Harry Potter 1. Chapter One: A Boy With A Broom

DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognize does not belong to me :-D All Harry Potter material is J.K. Rowling's, not that you honestly ever thought I was her anyways, but you know, legal stuff. If you recognize anything else, it's probably not mine, but if I add other stuff, I'll say in the individual chapters. So, for the record, this disclaimer stretches over all of this fic. (This is so I don't have to put it on every single chapter. But you get the picture, right?)

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter One: A Boy With A Broom**

Snape stalked over to Longbottom's table. His face was a mask of impatient frustration. When he arrived at the table, he glowered over the cauldron to inspect the problem, and his face took on a more guarded, wary look. After nearly thirty years of potion-making, he knew the look of a cauldron about to explode. Neville's cauldron seemed to be quite flubbed, in the bluntest sense. The potion was angrily hissing and spitting. The ugly black liquid inside was heavy and viscous, broiling and churning against the rim of the cauldron

Snape's eyebrow twitched slightly, as he came to the realization. The potion would not be contained much longer, no matter what steps were taken to attempt to alleviate the problem.

"Step away from the table," He said to Neville and Seamus, who, looking back upon it, he should have _known_ not to let pair up. They always made the worst mess of things when they worked together. The fact was, he had been distracted and not paid attention to who had paired with whom. The students began to step slowly away from the churning explosive.

He looked at Neville, who hadn't moved, and was staring at the hissing cauldron with wide eyes and a trembling lip. "Move out of the way," Snape snapped, with an edge of urgency. Time had run out. If the boy didn't move immediately, he'd be receiving a face full of boiling who-knows-what.

Yet, he stood stark still. "Move, you idiot!" Snape shouted, roughly pushing Neville away from his cauldron. In his detainment by the stupidity of the Longbottom boy, he himself had stepped away just a moment too late, and as he heard the wall-rattling explosion, he also felt the scorching hot goo sink through his clothing to begin gnawing at his flesh.

He yelped and found himself backing away towards the wall. He was attempting to remove his outer robes, with a quiet, desperate thought that it might help. The potion burned his eyes and skin, he was painfully aware of every cell of his body, for the sole reason that they all felt as though they were on fire. He had a sudden feeling of distortion. He seemed to be flickering in and out of consciousness. He staggered in disorientation.

The students were seeing something peculiar. Snape's dark form was fading in and out of vision, the air around him warping and blurring like heat rising from pavement on a hot day. Confused and frightened, the students pushed back, a half circle of twenty feet between their feared Professor and them. He began to feel nauseous and dizzy, as his childhood memories started playing before his eyes in ultra-speed. "Holy fuck," He coughed. "My life is flashing before my eyes," He managed to glare menacingly at Neville, which was quite a feat while one was swaying and stumbling. "If you've killed me, you can be sure I'm coming back to haunt you," he said with as much menace as he could. Neville looked quite pale at the prospect.

Snape's memories suddenly stopped, him suspended in a single moment of a single one. The loud bubbling sound that usually filled the dungeons was barely audible to him. He was vaguely aware of dropping to his knees, a small 'hurk' sound coming from his throat. He was trapped in a single moment, his memory. He was in the air, with people zipping about speedily around him. "Changing…" he heard himself say. His voice sounded hollow, and far away.

Neville heard what Snape had said, but before he had time to contemplate it's meaning, there was a collective gasp from the watching students. Snape had vanished nearly completely from view, being nothing more than a hazy outline. The outline suddenly shifted and changed, violently and without explanation. The form was suspended for a moment, before it became immediately defined, and crumpled to the floor in an unconscious mass of arms and legs. It was a boy, from the looks of it, a quite dark-haired boy. He wore elegant-looking black robes with red cuffs and trim, and a short, decorative silver cloak with a long green stripe down the middle. On the floor next to him, still in his hand, was an old model of a broomstick, though it looked barely used, as if straight out of the past. The boy had thick, padded guards on his arms and legs. Dark green gloves were visible, peeking out from beneath the long sleeves of the robe. It was a Slytherin Quidditch uniform.

He was face down on the floor, masking his features from sight. The only thing they could really tell was that his raven hair was spiked slightly, random orange streaks adorning it. There was a long silence in the room, as the students stared at the unconscious figure, unsure of what to do.

"What the hell is that?" Draco said, finally. "No way that's Snape, look at his hair." He blinked as if it were obvious.

However, though no one responded to Draco's question, the voice seemed to wake the boy slightly. His free hand moved to rub the back of his head, a muffled groan coming from the form. His hand paused when he felt the hair. He moved almost comically for a moment, touching the tips of the hair as if in confusion. He shifted his weight, sitting up on his knees. He looked around the room, a sour expression on his face, a hint of panicked confusion in his eyes. He stood up, leaning against the broomstick to support his weight as he levered himself up from the floor. He seemed to notice the broomstick for the first time, and dropped it from his hand as though it were a venomous snake. "What the fuck," he hissed. He noticed the gloves and cloak he was wearing, and seemed quite upset that he was wearing them.

"What the bloody hell did you do to me?" He said, his voice edging on hysteria. He quickly stripped the uniform from his body. The small spikes of his hair were sticking out oddly from the action, and it was revealed that he was wearing a ridiculous black shirt with a large Jolly Roger printed on it, and worn-looking denim jeans, over a pair of scuffed black boots. All of the clothing was artistically torn and pulled back together with safety pins.

"Holy fucking…" he trailed off. His hand flew to his ear, and he felt a large metal object protruding from it. The students looked and saw that there was a shining silver safety-pin pierced through his ear. He seemed quite flustered. "What in god's name have you done?" Severus snarled at Neville, his expression so like an angry cat's that you could practically see his ears flatten. Neville looked suddenly scared.

Without warning, his hand flew to his left eye. His fingers danced along the flesh there, feeling the long, jagged scar. The scar, it was back… he'd been so euphoric to be rid of it, and could have happily gone his life never having to think about it again. Yet, it was back. It was there again. Rage and pain filled his chest.

He swore very colorfully, tearing into his office. The students could still see him, having left the door hanging open. He grabbed a mirror and pushed his hair out of his face. He stared at the large scar. It ran from his forehead to his cheekbone, going over his eyebrow and eyelid in a serrated pattern. He let out a frustrated roar and smashed the mirror against the stone wall.

He turned his head, then, slowly, his dark, angry eyes boring straight at Neville. It was like a bad scene from a murder movie, but the novelty of it didn't stop Neville from being absolutely terrified. Severus started walking briskly towards the round-faced boy, before eventually breaking into an actual run and tackling the frightened boy like a rugby player. There was a brief scuffle between the two as Severus seemed to be pummeling Neville anywhere he could get his hands. Neville was trying to defend himself, but was not succeeding well, and kept giving off shrill shrieks of pain and fear.

"Look at what you fucking did to me!" Snape shrieked, his ears and neck burning red.

Crabbe and Goyle managed to grab Snape by the arms and drag him off Neville, who whimpered as blood dribbled down his face. Harry looked at Severus, his eyes wide and stunned. Severus's face was a mask of fury, but he was actually quite small, and didn't look capable of doing that sort of damage.

Severus snarled something unintelligible and tore his arms away from Crabbe and Goyle. His long sleeves were tattered on the end, and Harry could see smears of red on his knuckles. Neville's blood. The prospect made Harry's stomach churn unpleasantly. Just what in hell was going on?

"Look-at-what-you've-done!" Severus shouted, his words running together as his small chest heaved for breath. Hermione watched for a moment, thinking that something was wrong about the way he was breathing. Instead of slowly catching his breath, they seemed to be getting shorter and more laborious.

_Uh-oh..._ she thought.

As his breathing got worse, he clutched at his chest and turned away from the students, leaning against the wall for support. His eyes were clenched shut in pain and fear, his fingers digging through his shirt as his lungs began to feel tighter and less fulfilling to his desire for air. His breath became almost nonexistent, as he hunched his shoulders. With a shudder, his lungs simply stopped. No more air would go in, and Severus had a panicked look on his face. A few moments passed, his fear rolling off him in easily detectable waves, before he shuddered again, and a great breath escaped him. As he gulped the air back into his body, looking relieved and weary, He pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger. His hands were trembling slightly as he turned back to the students.

"What just happened?!" Neville asked, stunned. He seemed to have forgotten his previous engagement attempting to stop the bleeding from his nostrils.

"Get out of my classroom." He said, his voice rough and flat. The students looked at him stupidly, before his anger seemed to flare up. "Get the _hell_ out of this classroom!" He roared, and there was a scattering as they gathered their belongings, before they poured out of the room.

"What was that? Why couldn't he breathe?" Neville asked once they were out of hearing range, struggling to walk, carry his books, and hold his nose all at once.

"He had a panic attack." Hermione said knowingly. "He was hyperventilating. I've read all about it."

The students chattered in confusion and speculation all the way from the dungeons to their respective common rooms, where the gossip began to burn through the school like a wildfire.

By dinner-time, the entire school had heard about what had happened during the fifth-year Gryffindor/Slytherin potions class. There was no attempt to hide that everyone noticed Snape and Dumbledore absent from the High Table. The stories about his panic attack, his strange adornment of clothing, his violent reaction towards Neville had already been told over and over, becoming an instant legend in the school. After a mere twenty minutes of dinner, the Headmaster floated into the room, a look of determined solemnity on his face.

He stepped to the front of the room. "Well," he sighed. "You all have likely heard what has happened already, I have no doubt that the Hogwarts line of communication has been at its best all day. As such, I have no qualms about being blunt. Severus, in his current state, will be unable to command the required respect and attention from the students needed to perform his duties as Potions Master of this school."

"Are they sacking him?" Ron whispered to Hermione.

"No, Mister Weasley," Dumbledore said sternly, causing a fierce blush to appear in Ron. "We are not, as you so put it, _sacking _Severus. We would never leave such a dedicated and efficient staff member out in the cold. He will be staying here. A temporary Potions Mistress has been hired to take his place until he is no longer inhibited. Though Severus is, inherently, an adult, it is highly suspicious to both the Deatheaters and the Ministry, both of whom we have been having problems with, to have a boy loitering about the school, with seemingly no classes or purpose in being here. As such, we have deemed it necessary to enroll him as a student. He will attend classes with the Slytherin fifth years, and will be staying in the Slytherin boys' dormitory. As you have gathered, we are trying to keep this occurrence as low profile as possible. I am not ashamed to tell you that the House Elves took the liberty to slip a serum into each of your drinks that will prevent you from relaying this story to anyone outside of the school walls. The story we're going to go with is that Professor Snape is simply taking a long-awaited and wholly deserved leave of the school. He is vacationing in, oh, let's say he's gone to Italy. I know he's visited there before and quite enjoyed himself, in fact, I believe he has a home up there." Dumbledore seemed to be trailing off. "So, it's quite a believable story!" He pointed his finger upward, smiling brightly. "Without further ado, you may return to your meals!" He said. The room broke out in excited and suspicious chatter. "Severus, you needn't hide behind that door. Come on out and have dinner, you can't keep yourself covered forever," they heard Dumbledore say. Expectant, hungry eyes gazed towards the door, and the hall erupted with eager chatter as soon as the dark-haired boy creeped in, trying to look inconspicuous, which was hard with the tufts of orange hair sticking from his head. He attempted to glare at the students, as soon as he reached the High Table, but he seemed much less menacing with his rowdy appearance.

His ears turned red and he stared at his plate, holding the fork in his shaking hand, not eating. He felt an intense mixture of shame and anger. "I feel like such a fool. I should have let Longbottom get hit with the damned potion." He frowned. McGonagall gave him an appraising look.

"You did what you knew was right. Of course, you didn't have to attack the boy directly afterwards. Honestly, Severus, I thought you had more control than that," she scoffed.

He sneered. "I got in fights like that all the time when I was a student."

She shook her head, a disapproving look on her face. "You're an adult, Severus. Simply because you don't look like one for the moment doesn't mean you should compromise your morals and the standards you set yourself by" she scolded.

"My mind has been altered, I think. There's a distinct difference in the fluidity of my thought patterns and my logic. I'm thinking the way I did as a student. I have the knowledge, and memories I've acquired over the years, but the sudden change has made the ridiculous youthfulness of my thoughts very obvious to me. My emotions are more prominent and less controlled. I don't know why it is, but my brain must have been effected as well." He said, leaning his forehead against the table. McGonagall suspiciously thought she saw a stray tear escape from the confining bottom lid of his eye, but he inconspicuously brought his arm up and rested his face against it, wiping the tear if there was one.

He brought his head back up, looking out at the student body. Eyes kept flicking to him, but seeing him looking straight at them, they self-consciously jerked their eyes away from him. "They're staring, Minerva." He scowled.

"Well, of course they're going to stare. They've never seen you like this. Personally, I'm less worried about their treatment of you than, if what you say about your mind is true, what kind of trouble you'll get into until we find the antidote."

He rubbed his neck. "I have the most horrible pain in my neck… Christ. Minerva, I have a question." He said. She looked at him, feeling much like his teacher again.

"When I was turned into a child, I was wearing my Quidditch Robes and holding my broomstick. How could that happen unless the other me, the child me, who was apparently in the middle of a Quidditch Match, was turned into me, wearing my teachers robes and without a broom?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, Severus. That would be most unfortunate, but if that did happen, it would have been changing the past, and I would have remembered it in such a way. Seeing as I don't remember you ever being turned into a grown man with no broom while playing Quidditch, I'm assuming it didn't happen. Let's hope, anyways." She said, giving him an amused smile.

He scowled at his plate. "It's not fair. Why do all the bad things happen to me?" He said, his voice raising slightly. He grabbed a small crystal salt-shaker and tossed it angrily at the stone floor. It smashed, sending the grains of salt flying over the floor.

"That felt pretty good," He said, having satisfied his anger for the time being.

The student body stared at him. His ears blushed in embarrassment, and he slumped back into his chair, folding his arms angrily.

"Severus! Control yourself!" McGonagall said, reprimanding him.

He scowled at her. "I hope you lot don't expect me to wear children's student robes, because I won't. I'm not a student." He growled stubbornly.


	2. Chapter Two: A Most Noticable Scar

Disclaimer: See chapter one Me no owny, you no suey.

SLYTHERIN BOY

Chapter Two : A Most Noticeable Scar

He scowled at her. "I hope you lot don't expect me to wear children's student robes, because I won't. I'm not a student." He said stubbornly.

"Very well." Dumbledore said with a smirk. "Just keep in mind you'll have to be appropriately dressed, nothing vulgar please. Oh, don't give me that look, I remember some of the clothes you used to wear," he said with a wry smile. "You are beginning classes tomorrow." He said. Severus look at him, his eyes suddenly wide.

"Tomorrow? Why so soon?!" He asked, frowning. "This is so unfair!"

He was cut off, however, by an owl that swooped into the hall. Every eye watched it as it dropped a letter neatly on top of Dumbledore's crystal goblet. He picked it up and opened it.

"Ah, wonderful! Professor Jericho has confirmed that she will be arriving in two days. You should probably only take what you really need out of your rooms, and opt for just a trunk to the dorms. There's not nearly so much room in the Slytherin dormitories." Dumbledore said lightly.

"I can not believe this," Severus snapped. Every head in the hall was watching, now, but he didn't care. He leaped from his chair. "How can you let someone else stay in my room? That's my home for Merlin's sake! This is outrageous! And if you think for a single second I'm going to leave my things there for this Jericho woman to mess with, you're dead wrong!" He exclaimed.

Dumbledore stood up. "Severus, calm down," He said wearily. "We're doing all we can! I mean, don't _you_ think it's a bit suspicious? You know that in this state you'd be unable to fend off any attackers who might try to get to you? You have to do this, Severus, there's just no other choice! So please, son, _control_ yourself"

"And why should I do that?" Severus snapped. "I have no control over anything in my life anyways! I can't believe this is happening. It's just completely unreal. First you take my job, which is my only source of income and my only access to the ingredients needed for my potions research, and now you're taking my home too, and giving it to some complete stranger, just so people won't know that someone could be so stupid as to fuck up a potion enough to do this!" He snarled miserably, before standing up huffily. His chair scraped angrily against the floor, and as though to prove his anger, he grabbed the table cloth and jerked it, spilling dishes and food onto the floor. Suddenly looking embarrassed, he turned and bolted out of the hall.

The students sat there, stunned. Apparently, a young Severus Snape was even easier to anger than the adult one. How perfect.

"Severus has such a fiery temper," Dumbledore sighed, staring at the food and dinnerware that was now strewn across the floor. The other faculty members sat stupidly in their chairs, having had their dinner pulled out from under their noses.

Soon house-elves were everywhere, quickly cleaning up the floor and righting the dishes again. There was a popping sound, and new food appeared on the table. The teachers sat down, returning to their food, trying to ignore the empty seat at the table.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron exchanged looks before standing up and quietly leaving the hall, heading in the direction that Severus had run.

They wandered the halls, suddenly hearing hissed words coming from somewhere. Ron and Harry looked at each other, wide-eyed. The words slowly died away, but they could still hear heavy breathing somewhere. They followed the sounds, until they spotted Severus's hair. It wasn't hard to notice, being with the loud orange tufts.

They walked over, slowly. He looked up sharply, his face red with anger. They didn't notice a small trickle of blood oozing through his sleeve. He was leaning against a wall behind a suit of armor, with one of his arms hugged around his knees.

"Snape?" Ron said, frowning.

"My name is Severus." He snapped. He shook his head. "You know, that's really disprespectful. By calling me that without even a title or anything you're implying that I'm not worthy enough to be addressed by my actual name. Christ, not that you would get the liberty of calling me by it, right? I'm your professor, right? And you _should_ be calling me as such if I weren't so confused right now and completely rambling… why do I feel like I'm fifteen fucking years old again?!"

"Because you... are?" Harry inquired gently.

"Shut the hell up, Potter." Severus snarled at them.

"Were you crying?" Hermione said.

"No, I wasn't bloody crying," He snapped. "Can't you see I'm really pissed? Why would I cry from being angry? That's ludicrous. What would I have to cry about?" He said, making Hermione feel slightly stupid. That wasn't an uncommon feeling for her when dealing with Snape.

Hermione, sat down on the floor, Ron and Harry quickly following suit. Severus lifted an eyebrow. "What are you doing? What is this, some kind of a damned therapy session? Good God, I'm not one of your frilly little Gryffindor friends, I'm a teacher. Now leave me alone." He hissed.

"Alright. However you want it." Harry said, and he stood up, Ron following him. Hermione followed them awhile, before she stopped, looking back down the corridor towards Severus.

"What are you doing, Hermione?" Ron said.

"I'm going to try again," She said, turning back around.

"Hey, it's your neck." Ron said, shrugging. He and Harry continued down the hallway.

Hermione, as she walked down the hallway, suddenly heard the angry hissing words again, mostly swear words. She didn't know what to make of this, so she kept walking. When she arrived at the suit of armor again, she saw Snape sitting there, slicing a sizable wound into the crook of his elbow. Identical slashed adorned the rest of his arm, all oozing blood. The crimson liquid dripped down his hand, between his fingers. He seemed oblivious to her presence, as he muttered angrily.

"Oh, Merlin, what are you doing?!" She squeaked.

He looked up, seeing her standing there, but the look of incredible loathing stayed plastered on his face. Severus was not good at hiding his emotions. Hermione was struck with surprise at the incredible amount of hatred emanating from the boy.

"Fuck." He said.

"What are you doing?! You need to go to the Hospital wing!" She said, aiming for rationality.

"No, I don't." He said shortly, shaking his head and yanking his sleeve down.

"Why are you cutting yourself?" She finally managed.

He shrugged. "Why don't you tell me?" he drawled, in a monotone voice.

She sat down across from him.

"I thought I already told you to leave me alone?" He snarled.

"Too bad." She said. His eyes narrowed dangerously. He wasn't used to people refusing his directions anymore.

"Miss Granger, do you want to lose one hundred points from Gryffindor? Because I'd be more than happy to-"

"Sorry pal, only professors and prefects can take house points off." She said before he could finish.

His face fell. His eye twitched slightly.

"So, why were you doing that, again?" She asked again.

"I thought you knew everything," He said sarcastically.

"Seems to me that you don't know yourself," she said.

"What do you know?" He snarled at her.

"I've read about it. Cutting. People who hurt themselves because pain on the outside makes more sense then the pain on the inside." She said.

He looked desperately angry. "What the fuck do you know?" he repeated. "You don't know a damn thing! Stop trying to act like you understand anything, you're just another pretentious know-it-all! Really, you don't know a fucking thing! You don't have a fucking clue!"

"Is that how you got that scar on your eye? How come you didn't have it as an adult?" She asked, only afterwards realizing how much it _wasn't_ her business and how nosy she was being.

He leaped to his feet, startling her. "No, it is NOT how I got the scar. I would never do that! Not to myself and not to anyone else, especially not..." He trailed off. "From now on, you leave me the fuck alone!" He shouted, his voice echoing hollowly off the corridor walls, and stormed off down the hallway.

She watched him go, and slowly made her way back to the Great Hall. She decided it would be better not to push it, when he was so stressed. She decided, however, that she would find out what was making him so bitter.


	3. Chapter Three: A Mean Kid, A Violent Kid

Disclaimer : Again… chapter one :-D You should know by now!

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

Chapter Three: A Mean Kid, A Violent Kid 

The students began their classes the next day with a dawning apprehension. Severus Snape would be in classes with them. The Gryffindors were considering themselves lucky that they didn't have Potions that day, as the substitute had yet to arrive, but they frowned on the fact that they had more than one class with the Slytherins. Somehow, though, they had a feeling that Potions would be the hardest class to have to sit through with him.

   
The Gryffindors had to look forward to spending a lot of time with Severus, in Care of Magical Creatures, History of Magic, and Transfiguration. 

  
Breakfast was a loud and suspicious ordeal. Severus had been placed at the Slytherin table, and he seemed quite put-off about it. His hair, which was just a bit too long to be spiked the way they knew it, and seemed to spring in every direction. He was a picture-perfect image of an old-time punk, Harry thought. Severus seemed to be scowling the whole breakfast, seemingly uncomfortable with people staring at him. Somehow, the scowl on such a young face looked more like pouting than being menacing. Harry figured the small Snape probably didn't realize it. He was quite curious about the scar over Severus's eye. He noticed other people speculating about it, as well, but didn't join in. All the information they had about it was that at some point he'd had it removed, and had seemed quite devastated at discovering it's reappearance. It wasn't a very ugly scar, really, simply a pale, jagged line on his flesh, a shade or so lighter than the rest of his skin, making it look stark white against his fair skin.

   
After only fifteen or twenty minutes, the stares and whispers seemed to become too much for Severus, and he stood up to leave. His ripped black t-shirt revealed a smattering of pale scars up and down both of his arms, and on his left arm there was a strangely black-colored bandage wrap. His heavy black boots echoed their clunky steps as he stalked away from the Great Hall.

Hermione hadn't told Ron or Harry about catching Snape cutting himself. She had initially been perplexed at the sudden absence of the wounds she had seen him inflict upon himself before, but after a moment, she resolved that he was probably too intelligent to leave them there, and had likely healed them soon after she'd caught him. She sincerely doubted he'd gone to the infirmary as she'd suggested.   
  
Her thoughts were cut short as the end-of-breakfast bell rang, and she and her friends rushed to get their things from the common room before they were late for History.

  
****  
  


The famous Gryffindor trio had just taken their seats when the Slytherins began to arrive. It was slightly amusing when Draco attempted to enter at the same time as Severus. The blond boy shouldered the inky-eyed professor out of the way, entering first. Hermione saw a look of disgust and anger on Severus's face, and was not at all surprised when he grabbed Draco by the back of his robes, and jerked him back out through the door. The blond boy stumbled slightly, before catching himself. He scowled as Severus sneered at him and walked ahead of him. It seemed Severus had no patience for rudeness, even from the current King of Slytherin.

Severus didn't give Draco a second look as he took the closest empty seat. Draco's seat. Draco stared in disbelief, a pink flush painting his cheeks. "Get out of my seat, Snape," He snarled.

"I believe this chair is school property, not _Malfoy _property." Severus said snidely.

"It's my seat!" Draco snarled. "I'll have you killed," he narrowed his eyes at the dark-haired boy. Severus snorted. 

"You just try it, Draco. You're certainly overreacting to an insignificant issue. Just sit somewhere else, like a good little ferret, and maybe we can get on with what is promising to be an intensely boring lecture," he said.

There were a few sardonic giggles at his ferret comment, but Draco simply stared in rage. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Binns floated in. "Take your seat, Mallis," he said.

"Malfoy!" Draco snapped.

"No, son, my name is Professor Binns," the ghost said as though talking to a small child. "Now sit. I have very enthralling lecture about Gregory the Great and Uric the Oddball,"

Draco opened his mouth to protest, but at a look from the uncomprehending ghost, he huffed and slumped into the last free chair, next to Pansy Parkinson, with rage billowing from him. Pansy seemed delighted about the arrangement, but Draco seemed less inclined to smile about sitting next to the pug-faced girl.

Binns began his lecture, and it didn't take long for Hermione to notice that Severus wasn't paying the least bit of attention. He was, instead, reading from a heavy leather-bound book with yellowing pages, not even making an effort to conceal it from Binns. The ghost rarely noticed when students weren't paying attention, but Severus was being so incredibly obvious about it that it was hard for even Binns not to notice.

"You there," he said, glaring at Severus. "Stanley!" He snapped.

"Severus," he corrected, looking up lazily. He stared for a moment, before Binns came to his senses. 

"Why aren't you paying attention?" Binns drawled.

  
"What are you talking about?" Snape said. "Of course I'm paying attention." He said it in such a flat, sardonic manner that it was obvious that he was simply humoring the ghost.

  
"Then tell me, what happened when Gregory the Great traveled to visit Uric the Oddball?" Binns asked pompously.  
  


"Erm," Severus thought for a moment. "Well, Gregory came across Uric, discovering that the infamous oddball was completely cracked. However, before he could tell anyone, Uric broke Greg's head open with a hatchet. Since Gregory was dead, he never had the opportunity to tell anyone that Uric was insane, but since Uric was so indiscreet about the murder, he was caught and sent to a private institution in Scotland." Severus said.  
  


Binns seemed strangely angry that Severus had given the correct answer. Binns usually wasn't spiteful and malicious, but apparently there was just something about Severus that struck a nerve in just about everyone. "Five points from Slytherin for _acting _like you weren't paying attention." Binns said, marking it in his book.  
  


Severus made a disgusted face, but no comment. He must have known, deep down, that he was prone to taking unfair points from Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, but he still seemed a bit put off. The Slytherins were giving him dirty looks.  
  
"Whatever," Severus growled, pulling the book into his lap and proceeding to read a bit more discreetly for the remainder of the class.   
  


****  
  
At lunch, the substitute Professor had arrived. She was slightly nervous-looking, but an altogether pleasant-looking woman whom Dumbledore introduced as 'Professor Lila Jericho'. Hermione noticed that Severus was strangely absent from the meal. She figured he must have felt himself unable of being civil with the person taking his position as Potions Master, and had chosen to eat privately, away from the danger of getting into trouble. Potions classes would resume the following day.

  
Transfiguration was after lunch. Severus made his reappearance, slumping into an empty seat in a foul mood. Having arrived a few minutes late, apparently seeing no purpose in being prompt to classes he'd already passed once, there was only one chair available. The fourth chair at Harry, Ron, and Hermione's table. This seemed to irritate him even more.  
  
They watched as he took his seat, his hands clutching the closed book (the same from History) in a grip so hard his hands shook and his short fingernails left indentations in the leather. The tips of his fingers and his knuckles were white from the pressure in his hands, and his jaw was clenched, his dark eyes staring straight ahead, as though to look at the three Gryffindors would mean an almost certain angry outburst.  
  
McGonagall walked in, her eyes hovering on Severus for a moment. He stared straight ahead, obviously too angry to even attempt to look at anyone. Hermione was in the seat next to him, looking nervous to be sitting there. They'd already seem him bloody up Neville and insult Draco, she felt on edge at the fact that he seemed to have little or no control over his temper. She hoped she wouldn't say anything to offend him. She wasn't sure whether he considered himself above hitting a girl.  
  
"Ease up, Severus, before your fingers go straight through the cover of that book," McGonagall muttered to him as she walked past. His eyes darted to her, then to the book. He released his fingers from the death grip, and making a worried sound in his throat at the sight of the deep crescents in the leather a reminder of the abusive fingernails. He seemed to relax, his shoulders losing the tenseness they'd had as he rubbed at the crescents, attempting to remove them.  
  
Hermione smiled slightly to herself. She'd never seen anyone other than herself get worried over marks on their books. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. She guessed you could judge the true nature of a person by the way he took care of his reading material.  
  
"Today we shall be learning a bit more about the Animagi, as well as about Werewolves. Now, Werewolves are something I'm sure you learned about in Defense Against The Dark Arts, but not from the Transfiguration standpoint. Let's begin," McGonagall said, her demeanor seeming almost unbearably professional. She smiled wryly to them.  
  
****  
  
As the lesson progressed, Hermione noticed that Severus had been paying attention to McGonagall. Apparently he enjoyed Transfiguration more that History.  
  
"…it has been discovered that it is impossible to be a wolf Animagi, the only humans that can become wolves are Lycanthropes, more commonly known as Werewolves-"  
  
"That's wrong," Snape blurted abruptly. There was a scraping of chairs as students moved to look at him. No student had ever told McGonagall that she was wrong before. She looked at him sternly.  
  
"No it's not, Severus," She said. "I think I can safely say I know more about transfigurations than you," she seemed to be taking quite a snide manner with him. The students recognized her behavior towards him as the same way Binns had acted. Hermione vaguely wondered why they were all so degrading to him. Maybe it had something to do with his past, his involvement with the Dark Lord?  
  
"That may be," he said through clenched teeth, his temple jumping with his pulse. "If someone who is already an animagi is bitten by a Werewolf, they do not become a Werewolf, they simply have a wolf as a second animagus form." he said.  
  
"That's preposterous," McGonagall said. "If that were true, there would have been studies on it. You must be mistaken."  
  
"I'm not mistaken," he took a deep breath, as if reminding himself that he needed to be patient. "It's true. There have been cases, records of such phenomena, it's rare, of course, but so is being bitten by a lycanthrope at all, therefore the wolf animagi are far more sparsely distributed," he said.  
  
"It's not true," McGonagall ground out. "Please discontinue spouting myth in my class,"  
  
"It's not fucking _myth_!" he snapped. He stood up, pointing at her as he spoke, as if to accentuate his point. "It's the fact! You're the one who's wrong, and I'm in the right,"   
  
"Twenty points from Slytherin," she snapped, marking in her book again. "For disrespect to a teacher, raising your voice, and using profane language,"  
  
They could practically feel the waves of anger emanating from him, like a pulse. The Slytherins were glaring at him angrily again, he'd already lost twenty-five points from Slytherin, and he'd only been enrolled for a day!  
  
"You're wrong! I don't care if you take one hundred points from Slytherin, it won't make your information any more true!" He hissed angrily, his words echoing off the walls.  
  
"And what makes you think you're correct?" she said, her voice raising slightly, her leaning slightly towards him, attempting to intimidate him. Really, it looked more like a face-off between student and teacher.  
  


"Because it happened to me!" He snarled.

   
"Really?" McGonagall seemed suddenly interested. The students were watching in silence. "I wasn't aware that you were an animagus. Are you registered?" she asked suspiciously.  
  


"Of course I'm registered. I don't have any desire to get on worse terms with the Ministry than I already am," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. He seemed to be calming now that she had become more curious than defensive.  
  


"When were you bitten by a Werewolf?" She said suddenly. 

He scowled. "I happened to be mauled by a certain youthful Werewolf when I was sixteen years old," he gave a grave glare in Harry's direction. Harry was shocked. He'd known that Severus believed that Sirius and James had attempted to kill him, but he hadn't realized that he'd actually been injured by the brown-haired boy.  
   
McGonagall watched the interaction between Severus and Harry for a moment, but before she had a chance to continue class, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period.   
  


As they began to leave, most of the students paused, seeing Draco stop in front of Severus, his arms folded, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him on either side.            

"Oh, I'm so scared," Severus drawled, fitting his hands into his back pockets, the heavy leather book perched precariously in the crook of his left arm.

"I'm sure you're scared," Draco said. "You'd have to be stupid to not be afraid of me. I have power, you know. Friends in high places."

"Gasp," Severus said mockingly. "You have friends? Wow, you learn something new every day,"

"I'm getting sick of you, really fast," Draco snapped. Hermione looked at McGonagall, who was distracted by a note on her desk and not listening to the conversation between Draco and Severus.

"Oh, get out of my way, you stupid prat," Severus shook his head, moving to push past Draco. Draco grabbed him by the shoulder, jerking him back. There was a sudden whing of movement, and they saw Draco's head jerk back.

"Don't fucking touch me," Severus snapped. Draco stumbled backwards, Crabbe and Goyle's meaty hand keeping him from falling. He clutched his nose, which had begun bleeding profusely. He swore vigorously at Severus, who simply stared blankly, his hands back in his pockets. Draco stared for a moment, blood dripping through the spaces between his fingers, before he gave an angry growl and turned heel, stalking out of the room, his cronies close behind him.

"Stupid Malfoys," Severus growled to himself. "They're all the same," he shook his head, before McGonagall clapped a stern hand on his shoulder. Harry knew that look. McGonagall was _not _happy. The other students recognized it too, and took their leave before the fire started flying.

****  
  
The rest of the day seemed to go without incident. Care of Magical Creatures wasn't until the following day, and before they knew it, classes were over. Hungry and eager for dinner, the students filed into the Great Hall. 

  
The new Potions professor wasn't at dinner, but Snape was. He sat in a secluded corner of the Slytherin table, eating alone in silence. The other students were sitting a few seats away from him, leaving no one for him to talk to. He didn't seem to notice or mind in the least.  
  
That night, they all went to bed with a bit more to think about. Snape as a kid. A mean kid, a violent kid, but a brilliant kid. It was the strangest thing that had happened since the TriWizard tournament.  
  
Hermione was troubled, though. As she got ready for bed and crawled beneath her sheets, she couldn't stop thinking about what Severus had said in Transfiguration. That he had been mauled by a certain Werewolf when he was sixteen. Obviously, he meant Lupin. What Hermione didn't understand was…

How on earth could Snape have been bitten by Lupin, and yet Sirius Black wasn't expelled?  
  


****

 A/N: YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO! IT'S YOUR MOMENT OF TRUTH! **REVIEW!!**

* * *


	4. Chapter Four: Skipped Meals And A New Pr

Disclaimer: Oh, for fuck's sake…

SLYTHERIN BOY 

Chapter Four : Skipped Meals And A New Professor

The next day started like any other. Soon, though, it became apparent that Severus wasn't at breakfast, and from the smirk on Draco's face, it looked as though he'd slept in and they had carefully forgotten to wake him. Since their previous form of entertainment wasn't present, Harry, Ron, and Hermione contented themselves, instead, with watching the new Professor curiously. She was strangely quiet, only talking to the other teachers when they first spoke to her. She seemed shy.

Eventually, they moved to their first class, which was Defense Against The Dark Arts with Professor Lupin, thankfully Snape-free. It was a normal lesson, although they had a few minutes afterwards, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione stopped to talk to their old friend.

"It's so strange," he said. "I sat in classes with him as a student, but it's so much different to _teach_ him. Things he already knows, too, he must be dreadfully bored."

"Why don't they let him teach? Or just hang around or something?"

"Well, there was a staff meeting last night. He asked the same thing, he also asked why he couldn't just stay in the guest quarters instead of in the Slytherin dorms. Albus thinks it would be too dangerous. His magic level, though still higher now than most people, is not at its full level, not as high as it is when he's an adult. Apparently, You-Know-Who's out to get him in a bad way, and they don't want to bring attention to his state, they don't want You-Know-Who to _know_ that he's in a weakened state. They're afraid it might somehow get out that he's the way he is, and it might be by someone passing through and noticing him staying in the guest quarters, or simply someone in Hogsmeade recognizing him as Snape instead of simply a random student with a remarkable likeness to the man.

"The potion, of course, it keeps you from telling people outside the school, when you go to write a letter or when you are talking to someone through fireplace or visiting, you know there's _something_ you wanted to tell them, but you can't remember what. Apparently You-Know-Who really wants Snape's head, although they wouldn't tell us why, but they're taking every precaution, just in case."

"Jeez," Harry murmured.

"I know. And he asked why he couldn't stay in guest quarters, if no one would be able to tell anyone else. Dumbledore said that only people who had drunk the potion would know, and t hat if there was a guest of a visitor, after all, parents come to speak with teachers and we have deliveries here all the time, such as for food and supplies and whatnot, it would be very easy for someone to notice. They don't want any way for people to know about this little incident." Lupin frowned.

"Why are they taking so many precautions? I mean I can understand some, but it seems like they're going to an awful lot of trouble." Ron said.

"He's a crucial member of the Order, you know," Lupin said. "Were we to lose him, we would lose an important link in information about Deatheaters and the Dark Lord's movements." He answered absently.

"Really? What does he do? Spy?" Hermione asked curiously.

"That's classified information. Sorry," Lupin shrugged. 

"Wow, though," Harry said. "Who'd have thought?" 

"Not me," Ron said.

"We have to go, guys," Hermione said suddenly. "Charms in ten minutes and we have to go all the way back up to Gryffindor Tower," 

"TEN minutes?" Ron said. "Aw, damn," he murmured, and though he got a reproachful look from Lupin, they were gone before he could take points.

****

Lunch was interesting. Severus was present, and in a foul mood. His hair wasn't spiked, he had obviously slept in and not had time to do it. Because of that, it was awfully strange looking, flopping forward with a dull sheen to it, random orange streaks abounding. He scowled, sitting down. He was wearing a tight fitting, tattered (it seemed all of his clothing had been torn and ripped to fit the image) long-sleeved bleached velvet underground shirt. His jeans were a dark red color, with what appeared to be fabric sewn into the denim up one leg, the image of red and orange flames.

He sat by himself, but they watched him fling peas with his spoon at the back of Draco's head for about ten minutes. Finally, Draco's chair squealed as he stood up abruptly, turning around and facing the irritating boy.

"Stop flicking food on me!" He snarled, and the room went silent as the students looked over to see what was going on. When they saw who was arguing, whispers started murmuring through small groups of people throughout the hall.

Severus stared at Draco, an irritated look on his face. "You turned my alarm off this morning," He growled.

"So what if I did?" Draco sneered. Severus stood up, holding his plate in front of him.

"Woah." He said, pushing his plate against Draco's shirt. The roast beef and mashed potatoes smeared all over the blond boy. "Whoops." Severus said sardonically, seeing the gravy soaking into the porous fabric of Draco's designer robes. 

Draco let out a roar of fury and jumped on Severus. The teachers stood up, rushing over and tearing the two boys apart. Excited chatter flew throughout the room as the teachers held Severus and Draco apart from each other. Severus held out his arm, showing them a smear of something on his black shirtsleeve, near the cuff.

"You got gravy on my shirt," he smirked at Draco. "You should be more careful when you eat."

This got a roar of anger from Draco, who tried to leap at Severus, but was held back. Severus laughed at the boy's antics, his eyes gleaming. Hermione was starting to think he got a strange pleasure out of riling people up. The teachers dragged Draco off, to tend to his wounds, the blood that was pouring down his face, and to get him to change into clean clothing. 

"Severus!" McGonagall scolded when they had left. "I can't believe you! Have some self-control, you're acting like a child!" She said. "Remember what I said yesterday? You can't lower the standards by which you set yourself just because you _look_ younger!" She made no attempt to be quiet.

"I'll act like an adult when I am an adult, or at least when you start treating me like an adult. I might as well take advantage of being young and smash that insufferable fuck's face in every damn chance I get," he said. "Besides, every confrontation has been his initiation. So therefore, I'm in the right. Fuck him."

"Severus!" She exclaimed. "You always think you're in the right! And watch your language!"

"I'm an adult, remember?" He growled. "I can say whatever I damn well please. And I've begun to hate that kid, he's such a brat,"

"You'd better learn to control yourself," She said sternly. "Or you'll be serving detentions. And _furthermore, _you are _not_ behaving like an adult,"

He sniffed angrily and slumped back into his seat as she walked towards the table. He sulked for the rest of Lunch, but to his approval, the other students left him alone.

****

Double Potions was after lunch, the last class of the day, unless the students had electives they were taking. 

They were eager to meet the new Potions Professor, would she be nicer than Snape? Meaner? Well, not meaner, that was, after all, impossible. They walked in, taking their seats. Severus was a bit late, dropping his textbooks onto the floor when Draco walked straight into him, pretending it was an accident. He gritted his teeth, remembering what McGonagall had told him about not changing the standards by which he set himself just because he'd been reduced to his former self. He took a breath and picked the books up, taking the last seat that was left, the empty table in the very front of the room.

After about a minute, the new Professor walked in. She was fairly tall, with long, curly golden-brown hair. She had strange aqua eyes and a light dusting of freckles. She was wearing dark blue robes, and was carrying a thin red record book.

The moment he laid eyes on her, Snape's mouth dropped open. Emotion flitted over his features, first confusion, then indignance, then anger and disgust. He stood up, placing his hands flat against the table and leaning over it. 

"_YOU_," He hissed, with more loathing than they'd ever heard him use.

It was looking to be a strange Potions class.

****


	5. Chapter Five: Moero! Moero! Ahahahahahah

Disclaimer: You're in the traffic for all eternity, how could that speed be where you want to be? Nope, I don't own that, either. That's one hundred percent Rufus ^_~

SLYTHERIN BOY 

**CHAPTER FIVE: Moero! Moero! Ahahahahahaha!**

 "They got _YOU_", he snarled vehemently. "What were they _thinking_? Wouldn't they _know?!_ How could _you_ accept the job?" His voice was rising steadily in anger. She looked at him, blinked in astonishment and recognition.

"…Severus?" she said, then her eyes grew wide. They saw a blush steadily creeping into her face. "When they told me you were unable to teach, they didn't say _why_," She said. "I'd never have accepted the job if I knew _you'd_ be here!" She was hissing the way they'd hears Severus hiss time and time again.

"I'm sorry I'm not _dead_ for you, but this _is_ the next best thing, isn't it?" he sneered.

The other students watched, too stunned and curious to say anything.

"Don't talk to me that way, it was all _your _fault," She snapped. "Everything that happened was _your_ fault!"

"It abso_lutely_ was _not_ my fault! You can't blame me because _you_ left in the midst of everything! Do you have any idea how long it took to find a replacement with your god damned qualifications?! We were set back _months_ because of your childish fancy with Dizzy," he said.

"It wasn't because I fancied Dizzy, it was because I _didn't_ fancy _you_ and you couldn't handle me being in a relationship with him!" She yelled. His ears turned bright red.

"I would never even _consider_ being in a relationship with an unintelligent _wench_ like you! I simply didn't think it was appropriate for you two to be leaving in the middle of meetings to go _shag_ in the _bathroom_, and in my own _house_! I have to live there, you know, I don't want your disgusting _slime_ all over my things!" he shouted.

The students were getting a vague idea of what was going on, and a few whispers had broken out across the dungeons about Severus fancying the new Potions Professor.

That's not it and you know it, you little liar," She said. "And you are little, I don't know how you ever managed to reach six feet ten, a runty little kid like you," She mocked.

"Oh, that hurts _so_ much, Lila, I really care how damn tall I am," He snarled. "Teach the fucking lesson," He snarled. "And then go find Dizzy because you're sure as hell not going to get any from any other human on the face of the planet," he slumped into his chair angrily.

She blushed, suddenly looking at the open-mouthed faces of the other students. She drew herself up, as though trying to save some of her dignity, and opened the record book, the cover snapping loudly against the desk. She silently took role call. The lesson began.

****

They were making a potion that would eat through metal. It was harmless to human skin, however, which made it very useful for metal workers who needed to mold the metal without the fear of injuring themselves. It wasn't difficult, basically busywork until she got a real lesson plan set up. She and Severus shot each other hateful glances every once in a while.

Hermione looked over at Severus, and saw him pull a small vial inconspicuously from his bag. He glanced at the trout gills, which were what he was _supposed_ to put in. His hand hovered over them for a moment, as though contemplating whether to use them or not. Surely he knew how to make a simple potion such as this? He was a Potion _Master_, after all, which didn't just mean that he was a teacher, it meant he was a master in the field. Not to mention he had quite a name among in the potion master's community, and was well known as the best in the country, if not the world. Hermione had seen his name printed time and time again in potions journals. It wasn't _possible_ that he didn't know what he was doing.

Hermione got the distinct impression that he knew _exactly_ what he was doing.

His hand left the gills and turned back to the vial. He yanked the top of the it off and dumped the entire contents of it into the cauldron. When he ducked underneath the table, Hermione had the sense to do the same, dragging a surprised Harry and Ron down with her.

After a few moments, they heard a tremendous rumbling, and the entire classroom shook as a pillar of fire erupted from Severus's cauldron, shooting straight for the ceiling and hitting it. Of course, as soon as the fire hit the ceiling, it spread out across the entire classroom, dropping tiny warm pieces of black ash on the students, who were screaming in surprised terror. When the rumbling subsided, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Severus climbed out from under their table. Severus grinned wickedly at Professor Jericho.

"Oops." He said. "I think I might have mixed my potion incorrectly, Professor." He looked so smug in saying it, that she let out a huff of rage.

"You're cleaning it up!" She snarled, pointing to the ash that was still floating from the ceiling to coat the dungeons. He waved his hand, and the entire pile of ash vanished.

Well, not vanished, _exactly_…

Nearly a half a ton of black ash was sitting in a towering heap on the teacher's desk. She glared at him.

"I'm sure Filch would be happy to clean it up for you." Severus said. "As for me, I have to be going, I've got to go to the library." He said.

"The bell has not-" she began, but was cut off by the sound of the bell echoing throughout the dungeons. Severus picked up his bag and left the room.

****

At breakfast the next morning, Dumbledore walked up to Severus, who was, yet again, eating all by his lonesome. The Slytherins snickered as he took Severus by the elbow and led him in the direction of his office. Even a teacher couldn't get away with putting on a show like Severus did that day in Potions.

"That was pretty wicked, though," Neville said suddenly. "I've never seen anything like it. I didn't even know it was possible for a potion to explode that way, and I'm an expert at exploding potions," He smiled good-naturedly.

The other Gryffindors nodded. "You know, he didn't use a wand to move all those ashes," Seamus said. "He just waved his hand. He must be pretty powerful," 

"I've heard about wandless magic," Hermione said. "Apparently, most wizards and witches become dependant on their wand to produce anything, but there are some people who never really take to their wand, who learn other ways to control their magic. It's not widely understood, really, but it's completely mental, like the only people who have been recorded with the ability _after_ they get their wand and go through schooling are the exceptionally brilliant ones." She said. 

"He might be a neat person to talk to if he weren't such a bastard all the time," Neville said glumly. "Why can't he be nice?"

"Muggle therapists say there's a reason for everything." Hermione said. "But I think it's best to leave well enough alone. I tried to talk to him once and he got all angry at me, when he first got changed back. We should try to be friends with him, maybe," she asked.

"Yeah right," Ron scoffed. "He _hates_ Gryffindors. He would never be friends with _anyone_ who's not in Slytherin." 

"Ron," Hermione said. "It seems that he doesn't _like_ the Slytherins at all. And they don't like him either. I guess the real truth is that he doesn't like _anybody_."

"What about that person he and Jericho were talking about? Dizzy? He seemed angry at her, but he didn't really seem to care about this Dizzy fellow," Harry wondered.

"I don't know, and I'm not about to go ask him." Hermione said. "Let's talk about something else…"

****

Severus walked away from the Headmaster's office in a foul mood. Detention! How could they _actually_ put him in detention? He was a _teacher_ for God's sake! It wasn't fair! What did the world have against him?

"I've been damned since the day I was born!" He snarled to no one. "Bad luck never ends for me, I'm jinxed," He kept walking angrily, not bothering to return to the Great Hall, instead going straight to History.

The day passed sluggishly for him, he was dreadfully bored. When he got to Potions, last thing, he spend the whole time looking angry and shooting if-looks-could-kill-she'd-be-deads at Professor Jericho. 

Soon it was seven fifteen, and he cleaned up his things, preparing to go to that damned detention.

****

A/N: That's all for now ;). Don't worry, everything WILL be explained later, such as the thing with him in the quidditch robes, the scar, and what kind of meetings he was talking about with Lila and Dizzy. And maybe, just _maybe_, I will introduce Dizzy and the other (currently anonymous- though I know their names and such) people that attended the so-called "meetings". Confused yet? If not, I haven't done my job correctly!

So tuck in and get ready for further delicious chapters, heheheh. 

ALSO: This will not be a HG/SS romance. Just so you know.


	6. Chapter Six: Why The Sun Shines

Disclaimer: JK owns the HP Uni. They Might Be Giants own the sun. I mean Why The Sun Shines. You should check it out, it's pretty tzight yo.

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**CHAPTER SIX: Why The Sun Shines**

Severus walked into the Transfigurations room. He had to serve a detention with McGonagall, of all people! He looked around the room as he walked in, seeing that Harry Potter had a detention as well. He scowled and sat down as a few other stragglers walked in for the group detention.

"For detention you will write reports." McGonagall said. Snape sneered.

"How original," he muttered. Harry sent him a wary glance.

"You will be assigned the topic. You will present your report in two hours time." She said.

Snape sniffed in irritation.

            "That's quite enough, Mr. Snape," McGonagall said sternly.

            "**_Professor_ **Snape," Severus snarled. 

            "That seems to be debatable, doesn't it? You're not acting much like a professor." She said snidely. 

She walked around, handing each of them a slip of paper. Severus sneered at the slip. "Who thought these up, an eight year old?" He asked loudly. "Why the sun shines. How original. Next you'll be asking why the grass is green," he said. "Honestly! I could finish this in twenty seconds," he said.

"Be quiet and write your report." She said venomously. "I don't care about your opinion on the assignment. Detentions aren't supposed to be enjoyable, **_Mr_**. Snape," she said. "Begin!" She sat down at her desk.

****

After about ten minutes, Severus was leaning back in his chair, a sheet of parchment in front of him with his neat handwriting clearly written across it. He balanced his quill haphazardly on the back of his index finger. Harry finished his report nearly an hour later, sighing and sitting back. Severus leaned forward in his chair.

"What did you do?" He whispered to Harry. Harry looked at him in confusion.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Why do you have a detention? I thought you were the golden boy of Gryffindor," Severus's hair was starting to fall from it's usual spikes. It looked as though it had grown in the past few days, getting too long for the gel to keep it in place properly.

"Er… I charmed a suit of armor to follow Malfoy around. Apparently he got in a bit of a mess with it chasing him down. I guess I made it a bit to strong, but anyway, he got tackled," Harry said softly, keeping an eye on McGonagall, who was oblivious, grading essays.

"You should have magicked his hair pink," Severus said. "I did that to a teacher once when I was a student," he grinned wickedly. Harry was surprised and a bit scared. Why was Snape talking to him, again?

"A _teacher_?" Harry managed to whisper.

"Yes, well, she took points off for something Sirius Black did, he knocked over a bookshelf in the library and ran away before they caught him. I was sitting there, minding my own business, and they blamed it on me because I was reading a book from the shelf," he pulled a face upon the mention of Sirius.

"Really?" Harry allowed himself a nervous smile. "What teacher?"

Severus nodded his head forward, indicating McGonagall. Harry snorted. "You turned her hair pink?" He asked, getting a bizarre image in his mind.

"No, no, not pink," Severus chided himself. "_Magenta_." He had a skeleton's grin on his face.

Harry chortled, covering his mouth as McGonagall looked up to see what was going on. Severus put a scowl on as she looked at him. She didn't know who had laughed, but it never crossed her mind that it could have been Harry or Severus. They hated each other, and weren't sitting close to any of the other students.

"I don't think I ought to talk to you anymore," Severus suddenly said. "There are other people, it would totally ruin my reputation for hating Gryffindors," he lifted an eyebrow.

"So?" Harry said. He decided that even if it was kind of unsettling to have Snape not biting his head off, it was better than serving detentions in the dungeons with the great bat looming over him.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Potter," he looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Harry couldn't begin to understand what Severus meant by this.

****

"Severus," McGonagall said. Severus jerked his head up, blinking sleepily. He'd fallen asleep while Lee Jordan had been giving his report.

"What?" He asked. There was a pink crease on his forehead from the fabric of his sleeve.

"Come give your report," She said, looking impatient.

"Oh, yeah," he said. "I forgot." He flashed her an award-winning smile, and she narrowed her eyes at him. He sprinted down to the front of the room, holding his sheet in front of him.

He cleared his throat. "Why the sun shines," he said in a monotonous voice, before humming a few chords.

"The sun is a mass of incandescent gas," he sang.

"Mr. Snape!" McGonagall said.

"What?" he asked.

"What do you think you're doing?" she looked tired.

"Giving my report." He answered.

"This is not a music class, Mr. Snape," she said.

"This isn't a class at all, it's detention." He answered. "And you didn't say it couldn't be a musical report. It doesn't work without the tune," he said.

"Very well," she finally snapped. "Go! And be quick about it!"
    
     "The sun is a mass of incandescent gas, A gigantic nuclear furnace! Where hydrogen is built into helium, At a temperature of millions of degrees. Yo ho, it's hot, the sun is not… A place where we could live! But here on Earth there'd be no life, Without the light it gives. We need its light, We need its heat, We need its energy, Without the sun, without a doubt, There'd be no you and me. The sun is a mass of incandescent gas, A gigantic nuclear furnace! Where hydrogen is built into helium, At a temperature of millions of degrees.
    
                   "…The sun is hot…
    
                   "It is so hot that everything on it is a gas: iron, copper, aluminum, and many others!" He said this part, his voice remarkably similar to a Quidditch announcer's.
    
                   "…The sun is large…
    
                   "If the sun were hollow, a million Earths could fit inside. And yet, the sun is only a middle-sized star!" Again, the Quidditch announcer.
    
                   "…The sun is far away…
    
                   "About 93 million miles away! and that's why it looks so small!" He announced.
    
    "And even when it's out of sight, The sun shines night and day." He was back to singing now. "The sun gives heat, The sun gives light, The sunlight that we see. The sunlight comes from our own sun's Atomic energy!
    
                   "Scientists have found that the sun is a huge atom-smashing machine. The heat and light of the sun come from the nuclear reactions of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and helium." The Quidditch announcer made his return!
    
                   "The sun is a mass of incandescent gas, A gigantic nuclear furnace! Where hydrogen is built into helium, At a temperature of millions of degrees…"

The other students clapped as he finished his song, and McGonagall smiled despite herself. "Very informative, Mr. Snape." She said. "Return to your seat." He flashed them a smug sneer and returned to his seat, watching in refreshed boredom as the other students gave their reports.

****

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	7. Chapter Seven: Growth Spurt

Disclaimer: DON'T SUE ME!!!!!!! Please… All I have is a carton of sour cream and onion Pringles! And you'll never get that…. NEVER!!!

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Seven: Growth Spurt**

Severus disappeared soon after the detention. He didn't appear for any classes the next day, or the day after, or the day after. By the fourth day, students where whispering about it, rumors were flying, nobody knew what was going on.

Finally, Hermione's curiosity was burning within her. During Transfiguration, she decided she had to know. They had seen her check him as absent, and Hermione took that moment to raise her hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked.

"Where's Professor Snape?" She asked. "He hasn't been in class for a long time," she said.

"He's in the hospital wing," McGonagall said after a moment of thought on whether she should reveal his whereabouts or not. Hermione's eyes widened. "Why?" she asked. It must have been something very bad for him to be there for four days!"

"He's started a growth spurt," McGonagall said. Ron narrowed his eyes at her. "Snape went to the hospital wing for growing pains? What a nancyboy!" he said, looking surprised.

" Watch it, Mister Weasley. And I don't quite think you understand," McGonagall said sternly. "It should last three or so weeks, that's what happened the first time. You know how short he was last time you saw him?" She lifted an eyebrow. A few students nodded. He had been smaller than everyone, even most of the students in younger years. "And you know how he's nearly seven feet as an adult?" more students nodded.

"He grew nearly that much in one go," she said. "One growth spurt, it took three, three and a half weeks." She said. "The pain is… well it's crippling. He's growing so fast that his skin is tearing," she suddenly looked a bit nauseous at the prospect. The students stared in shock.

"Is that _possible_?" Harry finally broke the shocked silence. "His skin is _tearing_? Oh my _god_," his mouth dropped open.

"We never really understood why it happened," McGonagall said. "I feel very sorry for him, though, you'd think having to go through it the first time was bad enough, and now he's gone and had to do it again. You chose a bad age to send him to, Mr. Longbottom," she shook her head, and Neville looked a bit guilty.

"I didn't mean to…" Neville murmured.

"Oh, I know that. He knows it too, I think. I don't think he holds it against you, don't worry about it. In the long run, he's lucky, in my opinion. Getting to be young again. You don't appreciate it the first time, you know. Perhaps he'll appreciate it now. So far they haven't made any progress whatsoever in finding a cure. It looks pretty bleak. Perhaps he'll be your age forever," she grinned slightly. "It's a new beginning," she said thoughtfully, before realizing that she wasn't teaching. "Anyways, we _do_ still have a lesson today, so if you would just get out your textbooks," she said, and there was a rustling of papers as the class opened their books.

****

Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited the Hospital Wing the following Wednesday. They walked in, and heard Severus's voice humming to himself quietly. Madam Pomfrey pointed to where he was and they walked over.

"Hello, Professor," Hermione said when they spotted him. He looked over at her, his humming halting. He looked painfully awake. His bare arms were placed lightly on the covers, palm-down. Fine, bright red lines were patterned over them in delicate lace-like designs, where the skin was pulling apart and desperately trying to heal over. They could see streaks where the cuts had been accidentally broken open and started to bleed.

"Hello," he looked at them suspiciously.

"We just wanted to see how you were. We asked McGonagall where you were, and she told us about your growth spurt," Hermione said. He shrugged, but the motion seemed to make his eyes cloud over and he let his shoulders fall. 

Harry noticed that his hair was short again, and the orange was gone. It wasn't gelled, though, falling lightly over his forehead. "What happened to your hair?" he asked.

"I cut it. It grew out too far," he said. "I should have realized what it meant. Before the growth spurt the first time my hair grew really fast. I guess I was too preoccupied with the fact that I was young at all than to notice," he frowned as his voice cracked.

"Oh." Ron said dumbly. They stood in awkward silence for a few moments.

"Well, we just wanted to make sure you were alive," Harry finally said.

"I'll live," Severus said, and Hermione nodded. "See you around, then," she finished lamely, and they walked out of the infirmary.

"Remind me again, why were we visiting him?" Ron murmured as they walked away.

****

The next week and a half passed quickly, and they almost forgot about Snape. Until he returned.

He walked into the great hall awkwardly. He was very tall, looming as he had before. But his face and demeanor was still that of a boy. He was tall, but he still looked young. His ears turned red under the eyes of the entire school and his fingers worried the sleeves of his long-sleeved forest green t-shirt. 

Hermione noticed that while he was tall enough to wear his previous wardrobe, he was, apparently, wearing the clothes he had worn as a boy. He would have had to get a new wardrobe after the growth spurt, and being fifteen at the time, he wouldn't have changed his style. It was just strange that he'd chosen it over his usual attire.

He sat down in the chair at the Slytherin table, his legs looking uncomfortably cramped under the table. He stared at his plate, picking at his food before apparently deciding that he was very hungry, and devouring a large breakfast. 

The bell rang, signaling that they were to get their bags and head towards their first class.

****

They walked into potions, seeing Severus sitting at the empty table again. He glanced at them when Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked in. He flicked a quill absently against the surface of the table, glaring at them when they sat down.

Professor Jericho looked at Severus, frowning. "Well, good to see you reached six feet ten," she said. "Now I know how it happened."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked incredulously.

"What it means." She said.

He looked angry as well as puzzled. "Whatever," he muttered. Hermione noticed that his voice had changed, though it wasn't as deep as it was as an adult. While his voice then was pretty nice when one thought about it, or it would be if he didn't always speak in sarcasm or malice, his voice now was moderately deep but with a strange, youthful ring to it. 

The class started and passed without incidence. But at the very end of the period, Professor Jericho looked at Severus.

"Severus," she said softly, and the entire class looked up to see what was going on. She smiled at Severus, but it wasn't a very nice smile. "Dizzy's coming for a visit tomorrow." She lifted her eyebrows, and they saw Severus's mouth drop open. 

"Bitch," he swore under his breath. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged looks. It was looking to get interesting quite soon…

            ****

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	8. Chapter Eight: Blood and Brooms

Disclaimer: Je ne possède pas si s'il vous plaît ne vous poursuit pas en justice mofo vous! ¡Yo no poseo tan por favor no lo demanda mofo usted! Ich besitze so bitte nicht Sie mofo Sie nicht belangt! Non possiedo cosí per favore non lo ricorre in giudizio il mofo lei! I don't own, so please don't sue, you mofo you! Teehee I love online translators ^_^

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Eight: Blood And Brooms**

Severus seemed to be in a terrible mood after Potions. He was fuming, literally. Due to a hex between some third years quarrelling in the hallway, smoke was faintly puffing out of his nostrils and ears. 

Hermione was watching him carefully. He seemed very distressed on the news that this man, Dizzy, was going to be visiting.

Severus didn't show up for dinner. She'd seen him walk down towards the dungeons right before, so after she'd eaten and he still hadn't shown up, she told Ron and Harry that she was going to the library.

She walked down to the dungeons, hearing each of her footsteps echoing off the stone walls as she went. She saw him, then, sitting on the floor, his knees pulled up to his chest and his head leaned back against the wall, gazing at the nondescript black stone ceiling. 

His left arm was laying against the cold floor, the sleeve pulled up. She could see something dark on the flesh of his forearm, but she couldn't really tell what it was since the arm looked as though a hippogriff had shredded it. Blood was smeared on the ground next to his battered arm. She could see that the slashes had been mostly directed at the dark area on his arm. 

She remembered suddenly the time he'd shown his dark mark to Fudge. The dark mark, the sign of a deatheater. Had he already had it when he was only fifteen?

"Um…" she murmured. He looked over sharply, his black, intense eyes narrowed at her. He yanked his sleeve down over the ruined arm, and she cringed inwardly as blood began to seep into the fabric.

"You shouldn't do that," she murmured.

"Shut up," he snapped. "Leave me alone! You don't know anything!"

She frowned. "Seems just yesterday that you were calling me a know-it-all in front of class," she said.

He didn't respond, simply leaning his head back, looking upset. He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, and she wondered whether he'd been crying or not.

"What happened that made you upset enough to do that?" she asked.

"Dizzy," he growled, making the name sound like a swear word. "Dizzy is coming to visit." He rubbed his forehead. "Tomorrow,"

"So? Who is he, anyways?" Hermione sat down facing him, her back against the opposite wall. He looked at her suspiciously.

"I used to… work with them." He said. "Dizzy's a deatheater. I didn't know it then, though. I don't think Lila knows, either, I'm probably the only one. He never even told me, actually, I found out under other circumstances," he said. "We were part of a resistance group together. Against them. We sabotaged assassinations." He rubbed his forehead. "But a few months after Lila left the group, I saw him torture and kill four muggles at a deatheater meeting I was spying on. He was foolish enough to remove his mask." Hermione could see the look of betrayal in his eyes.

"I couldn't believe it. I left the group without saying goodbye, I never told them where I was going or why." He said. "I never wanted to see him again, and that meant I couldn't ever see any of them again." He said. "Lila knows that," he said. "And because of the bad blood between us, she's invited them to get back at me. She may not be able to tell them my 'condition' while contacting them, but she wouldn't forget my existence completely." He sneered. "She's a bitch."

"Oh," Hermione said. "Why didn't you tell the ministry he was a deatheater?" she asked.

"The ministry doesn't trust me enough to listen to anything I have to say," he said. "I was a deatheater once." He frowned miserably. "Biggest mistake of my life, worst thing I ever did. I'm so stupid," he clutched his head in his hands, looking very angst-ridden. 

"But you're not anymore," she said. "You saw that it was a mistake. That's what makes you different from them, that's what proves that you're not really a deatheater. A real deatheater would stay with Voldemort, return to him and beg forgiveness. But you've stayed with Dumbledore and the ministry, even though the ministry doesn't really trust you and you're in grave danger because of it." She frowned. "I also know that you spied on them for a long time while Voldemort was still in power," she nodded. "I'd say you've made up for that by now." She smiled.

He didn't look at her, and refused to acknowledge when she stood and walked away from him.

****

Hermione told Harry and Ron what she'd found out. They decided that they should talk to Snape again. Hermione tried to convince them otherwise, but they wanted to hear for themselves what had happened. Whether there was a _deatheater_ coming to the school or not. If so, they _had_ to tell Dumbledore, it didn't matter if the Ministry didn't trust Snape, Dumbledore _did_, and they were ALL in danger if this Dizzy fellow was really a deatheater.

They went to the dungeons, but he was long gone. They saw a small smear of blood that had been missed when someone had obviously been cleaning up a larger mark.

"Well, it's not as though we could find him now," Ron said reasonably. "Let's go back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry. This was a stupid idea anyways, Dumbledore would know if this guy was a deatheater."

"I don't know, though, Ron," Harry said. "Sometimes it seems like he knows everything, but he's not omniscient." He frowned. "What if he doesn't and this Dizzy guy _is_ a deatheater?"

"No, it couldn't happen." Ron said stubbornly. They walked past a large window, and as they walked by, a jolt of movement caught Harry's eye. He stepped back to look out the window, and Ron followed suit to see what Harry was looking at.

Someone was on a broomstick out in the dark Quidditch Pitch. They were darting back and forth across the field, zooming expertly. Harry grinned as he saw the figure do a looping spiral and pull his broomstick upwards to spin higher and higher up, only to do a U-turn and plummet towards the ground. At the last minute, the figure pulled the broom up again, to play about more on the pitch.

"Who is that?" Ron wondered. "They're pretty good on a broom, almost as good as you, Harry,"

"I don't know. Let's go see."

****

They walked onto the dark pitch, craning their necks upward to watch the mysterious broom-rider. After a few minutes, the rider zoomed towards the ground, leveling and leaping off the broom. Harry's jaw dropped open. That was _Snape_? Who'd have thought he was anything but scary on a broom?

Ron suddenly remembered how he'd been wearing Quidditch Robes when he'd been changed back.

"Hey, Snape," Harry said. "I didn't realize you could ride a broom,"

Severus jumped at his voice and turned abruptly to face them. He looked embarrassed, even in the dark they could see that his ears had turned bright red. "Every witch and wizard who goes to Hogwarts can ride a broom. You do remember having broom-riding lessons, don't you?" He said snidely.

"Yes, what I meant was I didn't know that you could ride one well," Harry said.

Severus made a noncommittal sound. 

"We heard about this Dizzy fellow," Ron said after an awkward silence. "Hermione told us."

Severus looked at Hermione, a helplessly betrayed look on his face, before he caught himself and glared at them. "So?" he ground out.

"We were wondering if it was true that he's a deatheater…?"

"Of course it is. I don't lie, you know. And if you think your friend is lying, then I'd hate to be her, not even trusted by her closest friends," he said snidely.

"We think that you should tell Dumbledore." Ron said. "It's dangerous to let a deatheater into the school! If you know it, you have to tell Dumbledore! It doesn't matter if the bloody Ministry doesn't trust you, you _know_ that Dumbledore trusts you!" he snapped. "Dumbledore should know!"

"Dumbledore does know," Severus said. "I told him a long time ago. I'm not completely stupid, you know," they could feel his hard, hateful glare on their faces even though it was getting too dark to actually see it. "As far as I know he's not doing anything to stop the blasted man's entrance into the school. Perhaps Dizzy'll go haywire, and you can have yet another chance of saving the day," he snarled. "'Golden boys of Gryffindor save Hogwarts from murderous villain', I haven't heard _that_ before," Severus promptly turned on his heel and stalked away.

Harry ran up to him, grabbing Severus by the shoulder and pushing him around to face him. "What have you got against us, anyways?" Harry shouted. "We've never done anything to you! All we do is try to do what's right, damn it!" He said. "Why do you hate that so much? We work hard to do what we can to make the world a better place! And it's not that much, we know, and we've just been lucky so far! But why is that a reason to stop? Why should we just sit by and let a dangerous man into the school? Not when we _know_ that he's a deatheater, and we _know_ what he could do!"

"You have no idea," Severus said, his voice suddenly dangerously low. "You have no _idea_ what he could do!" His voice raised to a harsh shout. "I've seen what he is! I've seen what they _do_! What you went through last year is _nothing_. Don't you get it? He killed Cedric, yes, very well, he used the curse! Your friend felt _no pain whatsoever_! You've not seen what they do to muggles, to muggle-borns! You've not had to see them torture people to death, kill adults in front of their children, kill children in front of their parents! Cruciatus until they can't string two words together! You have _no idea_!" Severus shouted.

"That's because Harry wasn't stupid enough to go and join the deatheaters like you," Ron snarled, walking up behind Harry. Severus was wordless, an almost shocked look on his face, his eyes glittering strangely.

"You have _no_ idea," he shook his head. He turned to walk away, a strangely defeated look in the way his shoulders were slumped. "Not everyone joins by choice, you know," he murmured as he walked away. "And there's nothing we can do about Dizzy,"

****

A/N: A sudden stroke of inspiration made me do this. Thank you all for the fantastic reviews! I think the last too chapters were too short, but I think this is a good one. More exciting than the past few, and one mystery solved. Now I just have to get to work on the countless OTHER mysteries I have to solve for you *blaaaaaaaaaah work :P*

Thanks all! L8r G8rs!

**Time to go through the motions. REVIEW YOU POO-HEAD! Or at least a poo-head if you don't review!**


	9. Chapter Nine: What A Dizzy Dance

Disclaimer: Meesa no claim Harry Potter. That's all just a little j/k j/k lol ^_~ aka JK Rowling. Those potion ingredients are just stuff from Zelda, too. Just sos ya knows lol.

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Nine: What A Dizzy Dance**

Severus showed up the next morning looking a bit tired. When Draco stepped in front of him (on purpose) on the way to breakfast, Severus slammed his fist into the boy's face. Bleeding from the nose, Draco growled and jumped on him. After being separated by teachers after scrabbling for a few moments, Draco was sent up to the infirmary, and Severus was carted off to the Headmaster's office. Again.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just settled into Potions class, when Severus arrived. He slumped into a chair and ran his fingers through his hair. He sighed deeply.

His head jerked up when Hermione looked at him. For a moment he stared at her, in all his intense dark-eyed glory, and she could practically feel his gaze. It was uncomfortable, and she had looked away before she realized why. 

When Professor Jericho walked into the room, his breathing seemed to accelerate, from what Hermione could hear, she presumed it was from repressed anger. 

"Today, we will be brewing a pain relieving potion. It was created in 1954 by a Mexican named Miguel Sanchez, who named the potion Amarillo. Amarillo is Spanish for 'Yellow', which you should remember, as it will help you remember that the potion should be yellow when it is correctly brewed."

Severus stared at his table-top, as she went on explaining. Finally, they were given permission to begin the lab. He went to the potions cabinet and took out an armful of ingredients. Hermione noticed that, again, he had extra ingredients. She wondered what he was doing.

When they'd all returned to their desks, she watched him from the corner of her eye. He began the potion ordinarily enough, not using the directions but simply going by his mind. Still, he seemed to be doing it correctly.

When he added the Crushed Skulltula instead of the Hylian Grass, though, she became curious.

"Eh, Severus," she said. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He looked a bit put off at how she addressed him, which was simply because she wasn't sure whether to call him Severus or Snape. 

"Hm?" he murmured.

"What are you doing to your potion?"

"Brewing it."

"I meant, what are you making instead of the Amarillo?" she asked.

"I wonder." He said.

"Can't you just tell me? It's not like I'm going to tattle on you," she said in frustration.

"I _can_." He said.

"Will you?" she caught his meaning.

"No." he said with finality. She gave up and turned back to her potion, a bit disappointed by his unwillingness to tell her what he was doing.

After about an hour, he sat down in his chair and pulled his books into his lap. Hermione turned to look as his cauldron gave a strange gurgle. Within seconds, the contents had turned a dark purple and overflowed out of his cauldron, spilling over the table onto the floor. He pulled his feet up into a cross-legged position on his chair. The class exclaimed as it swept quickly over the entire floor of the classroom until it was up to their knees. Hermione, Ron, and Harry'd had sense enough to climb up onto the desk, and Professor Jericho was currently trying to calm the class, the purple, foam-like substance clinging to her robes. As soon as the disgusting goo reached knee-level, there was a blinding flash of light. 

As Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Severus blinked the black dots from their vision, they saw what had happened. The potion had hardened into a purple, cement-like substance. Severus let one foot drop from his chair to test it, and found that while it compressed a few inches under his feet when he stood up, it was too hard to break. 

It was solid, but had a bit of elasticity. Students began screaming again when they realized that their legs were trapped in it. Even Professor Jericho let out a small squeal when she discovered she couldn't move.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at Severus, standing on top of the purple substance, before they too dropped down. It was solid and springy, and all of their classmates were trapped in it.

Suddenly, Ron started to laugh. Severus smirked slightly, and the classroom quieted down, except for Neville, who looked close to tears.

"Trapped! I can't move!" He wailed.

"Oh, calm down, Neville," Ron said. "It's only up to your knees. Hell, you could sit down if you wanted," he smiled halfway. "I'm sure Filch could dig you out eventually."

Neville whimpered, but let himself drop onto his bottom, sitting on the substance. At that moment, the bell rang for History. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville exchanged looks.

"Sorry, Li, gotta go to class," Severus said, saluting the frowning teacher.

"You'll stay right here, Snape!" She shouted, and he paused on his trek to the door. "You're going to stay here and get us out of this… whatever this stuff is! And then you're going to face Dizzy!" she said.

He lifted an eyebrow. "I'm only fifteen. I don't know how to do such a complex spell. You're the teacher, you must be qualified to handle such emergencies. Besides, luv, I wouldn't want to be late for old Binns," he winked jauntily and pushed the door open, dropping to the floor level outside the classroom. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shrugged their apologies and followed him.

****

Hermione looked over at Severus, who was barely listening to Professor Vector, the Arithmancy teacher. It was an evening period, after regular classes. The class was almost over, really, at 6:34. 

He looked up at her, meeting her gaze. He was sitting at the desk next to hers, and she hastily scribbled a note.

"Did that guy- Dizzy- ever show up?

-Hermione" she wrote. 

She folded it and inconspicuously reached over and handed it to him. He looked at it for a moment, before looking at her and unfolding it. He seemed unsure, but when he read it, he seemed to relax a bit. He pulled out his quill and scribbled a response onto it.

He folded it and flicked it while Vector's back was turned. It arched into the air impressively and landed directly into the center of her desk. She smiled slightly, as no one had noticed, and unfolded it. It took her a moment to get used to his sharp-edged handwriting, but when she did, the message read, "Meet me at the library and I'll tell you about it.

**-****Severus**"

She looked at how he'd scrawled his name at the bottom. It was strange to see him sign his name as that. Every time she'd seen him write his own name, it had been in the form of "Professor Snape".

"When?" she wrote.

"8?" he responded.

"Okay. I'll tell Ron and Harry that I'm studying. That should get rid of them…" she wrote.

"Yes, I am aware of their reluctance to learn anything useful." He wrote. She grinned.

"Unless Quidditch counts." She responded.

"Since when is Quidditch useful for anything but seeing Malfoy getting bludgeoned?" he wrote.

"Exactly! But don't ever say that around them, they'll go ballistic. Quidditch is probably the only thing holding Ron to sanity…" 

"If that's all, he'll be nutters within the year- just think of the twins."

"Wow, never thought of that. Guess we should order a straightjacket, then, huh? To keep us all from getting blown to bits" she wrote. Vector glanced at her suspiciously. When she passed the note to Severus, Vector, thankfully, didn't see.

"Now, try telling Molly Weasley that her children need to be sent to an institution is not recommended. She is very touchy on the subject of her fledglings, and the slightest criticism on their sanity is not appreciated." He responded. Hermione stifled a giggle.

"Better be careful, Vector's getting suspicious," she wrote.

"Well, she is the suspicious type. She's always closing drapes on windows in the staff lounge because she's afraid people will be looking in them. And I've never seen her go into a room without locking it after her. She seems to think everyone's out to get her. But she's wrong! It's _me_ they're after!" he wrote back.

"Whoops, she's looking at you now! Better stop. See you at eight,

-Hermione" she wrote.

"Alright. It's very interesting, I promise!

** -Severus**" he finished.

After a bit, the bell rang, and they walked in opposite directions.

****

In the library, Hermione found Severus sitting in the window box at the very back of the library. He was reading a book on Serial Murderers. She lifted an eyebrow as she walked over. He noticed her and closed the book. A picture of David Berkowitz was on the cover, and the title was "Serial Killers- Twenty Most Brutal and Bizarre"

"Severus," she said, surprised at how easy it was to say. Then surprised that she noticed. "Why, may I ask, are you reading about serial killers? Isn't that a bit morbid and disturbing?" she asked.

"On the contrary, it's quite interesting." He answered. She sat down on the other end of the window seat, which was large enough for five or six people.

"So, what happened with Dizzy?" she said. "That's not his real name, is it?"

"No, his real name is Richard. We called him Dizzy because he was always stoned and couldn't usually sit down and think straight." He shook his head. 

"What happened?" she asked.

"Well, I bumped into him in the hallway, and he looked terrible! 

"He's going bald, which is quite amusing since he's only 25, and he's got scars all over his face. I don't know what that's about, he must have gotten into a fight with someone in a bad way," he shook his head again. 

"He looked at me for a moment, before blinking really hard. He said 'I've been smoking to much reefer,' and walked right past me! I couldn't believe it, but it was extremely funny," he grinned halfway. 

"I don't know why I was so scared about it. He's really frail-looking, like he could just fall over dead at any minute. Not as intimidating as when he was licking blood of a muggle's face," he shuddered violently.

"Wow. So he didn't even realize that it was you?"

"Well, he recognized me… but apparently, he was stoned and thought he was just mistaking a random student for me. Weird, huh?" he asked.

"Definitely," she said.

"That's about it. I haven't seen Lila since this morning though, so that's going to prove to be a problem," he looked a bit apprehensive. "They're going to get me for that. Probably have me scrubbing floors for weeks, at least until I get turned back into myself and can start teaching again. And Lila will leave. God, I hate her so much," he growled. 

"Woah, calm down, there. Don't need any serial killing going on, right? She'll be gone soon enough. And she seems to feel the same about you. Quite like you and Harry." Hermione pointed out.

"Oh yeah. Well I don't really hate him. I just don't like him."

"You don't like him a **lot**." She said. "He's never even done anything to you, you know. And because of how you act to him he always automatically assumes you're the culprit every time something strange happens."

"I know." He said. "They all do. But that's what happens when you're as unlikable of a person as me. I accepted that I was a social outcast when I was twelve years old, and grew into my role in society as the unforgiving disciplinarian. What can I say? It's who I am."

"Yes, but… you're not acting like a bastard right now…" she said.

"Well, you're different." He said. 

"What? How?" She asked, her eyebrows flying up. Just earlier today, he'd been nasty to her in potions! How was she different now than she was then?

"You're not so vain or shallow or stupid as them. It's easier to talk to people who understand what I'm talking about. And it's hard to find people who understand what I'm talking about. Probably one of the reasons I stayed with the deatheaters for so long. Although evil, many of them are very intelligent, knowledge is power you know, and as I rose through the rankings I got to interact with people who don't seem as intelligent as rocks…" he said. "Eventually I realized that they were all murderers and rapists and that by associating with them and brewing potions for them I was too, whether or not I was grateful for the company, and I left. And of course now I'm the outcast of both worlds." He murmured.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"The resistance, for the most part, hates me because I was one of them. The dark side hates me because I betrayed them." He shrugged. "It's alright though. My own fault, you know?"

"Yeah." She said. "I guess." She looked at the clock. The library was going to close soon. And she still had homework to do!

"Hey, Severus, I gotta go," she said. "I have a five page essay to do for Ancient Runes," she pulled a face.

"Right." He said. "See you,"

She stood and walked away. She headed to her room, wondering about him. One moment he seemed so cold and unapproachable, and the next moment he opened up and told her things that she'd wondered about since she'd arrived at Hogwarts… it was bizarre. She wondered if he was intending to become friends with her and Harry and Ron, since Harry told her about that detention he'd had. It was like at random moments he acted like he almost liked them. Very peculiar…

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A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to get this updated. I've been meaning to for a very long time, but my summer was extra-busy, I only spent two or three days at home the whole time! And with school beginning again and Marching Band season starting, I had very little time for anything (so I'll probably end up writing only on weekends :-P) but eventually everything should get regulated again. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews, I love you all! Speaking of reviews……

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	10. Chapter Ten: In Your Element

Disclaimer : Dear Lord, it's been ten chapters. You already know I don't own any of this shiznit!!

SLYTHERIN BOY 

Chapter Ten: In Your Element 

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Hermione sighed. The Gryffindor Common room was likely one of the most boring places that had ever existed. Unless, of course, you liked hours of conversation about Quidditch or watching random explosions from the students like the Weasley twins, who enjoyed blowing things up.

Hermione, liking neither of those things, left Harry and Ron, who were talking about the dynamics of the Wronski Feint and picked up her bag, heading towards the library. 

Walking in, she saw Severus in the corner. (Snape in a Library. I should have suspected he spends his free time here.) Hermione thought. He was fiddling with something in his lap. As this thought crossed her mind a sudden dirty image jumped into her head. (Oh god.) She thought. (I'd expect that sort of thing from Ron. I had better keep my thoughts in check. Damn hormones,) she thought.

She walked over and sat down on the window seat he was in. "What are you doing?" she asked. He scowled at the camera in his hand.

"It's jammed," he said. "I already rewound the film, but I can't get the door open," he scowled again.

"Here, let me try," Hermione said. He handed the camera to her, and she examined it. It was a nice camera, it looked expensive. The real deal, like something a photographer would use. It had a small lens on it, but at his feet she saw a black plush bag with a few larger lenses peeking out. 

"I had no idea you were into photography," Hermione murmured as she pulled out her wand.

"Don't spell it!" He said. "What are you doing?!" He snatched it back, holding it protectively. "You might break it!"

She smirked at him. "Wow, so Severus Snape actually has a safety blanket, then, does he?" she said.

"Shut up. It's not a safety blanket, it's not some stupid toy that a child would drag around because they're emotionally attached to it," He sneered at her. "It's an expensive piece of photography equipment! It's a tool and if you break it then I have nothing fun to do in my life anymore," he said.

"I don't believe I've ever heard you use the word fun before," Hermione grinned at him. He frowned. "I promise not to break it." She said finally. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me," she said.

He looked at her thoughtfully. "Fine." He narrowed his eyes and handed it to her. "If you break it, you are reimbursing me." He smirked. "With interest."

She shook her head at him. "Whatever." She said. She looked at the camera. It was sleek and black with a little electronic-like window and several buttons on it. She didn't have a clue how to work it. But, looking at the door, she could see that the button next to it was supposed to open it. She pushed it. Nothing happened. She pushed it again, harder. Still nothing.

"You think I didn't try that?" He shook his head at her. "What do you take me for? My intelligence level is slightly higher than Vincent and Gregory's, thank you very much." He said.

"Who?" she asked, blinking. He looked at her. "Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Not the sharpest knives in the drawer, if you catch my drift." He blinked. "I was under the impression that Potter's Posse was familiar with the two of them."

"Well, yeah. I've never heard anyone call them by their first names before, though. Everyone calls them Crabbe and Goyle." Hermione shrugged.

"Yeah, they don't like that. It makes them feel disrespected because people don't think they're good enough to use their given names. It's caused a sort of dislike of Draco before, but they'll never tell him that because they don't want to start a feud between their families, as Draco's father is quite powerful." He said. She blinked at him.

"Really?" she asked. "How do you know that?"

He looked at her. "I'm the head of their house," he said simply.

"So? McGonagall's our head of house but people don't, you know, tell her stuff." Hermione said.

"That's why currently Gryffindor is a waste of a house." He said. "That's one of the reasons I dislike Minerva McGonagall. She has no connection with you. You don't feel like she's on your side, and thus nobody will go to her for help or mediation. That's one of her job requirements that she doesn't fulfill. When Albus was head of Gryffindor house, he was fabulous. Students flocked to him for advice." He looked at the camera in her hands. "I thought you were going to fix that?" he asked.

Her attention jerked back to the camera in her hands. "Oh. Right." She said. She pulled out her wand. "Aperire," she said, pointing her wand at it. The door flipped open, revealing a round plastic container with a slot where the film had protruded before he had rewound it.

"Excellent," he said, taking the camera back from her. He pulled the film out, dropping it into the black bag at his feet. He reached in and uncapped a little plastic container and pulled out a new roll of film. She watched as he pulled the brown end of the film from the little round plastic tube and hooked it onto a peg on the inside of the camera before clipping the tube into a space on the other side. He closed the door. He picked up the camera and pointed it at her.

There was a mechanical whirr and she watched as the lens moved in a little bit. He stuck his hand out and turned the lens a little with his hand.

"Say cheese," he smirked. She smiled. "Colby Jack," she smirked. He clicked the button and she steadied her eyes against the flash, watching as the shudder inside the camera closed. There was a whirring sound momentarily, before it went silent again.

He put the camera down in his lap and looked at her. "Where'd you learn that spell?" he asked.

"Colin Creevey," She said. "He's the school photographer. He's very good, really. But before he got his new camera, he had this old piece of junk camera that was falling apart. The door wouldn't ever close, so he got some spellotape to keep it closed. Every time he wanted to open it again to get the film out he had to use that spell, because you can't just pick spellotape off of things. Then he'd end up taping it closed again after he put more film in." She smiled.

"Tough luck. He got a new one, though, you say?" He asked.

"Yeah. A real nice sleek one. It's like yours, only I think it's a lot older. He probably bought it second-hand. But it works for him." She said. "I had no idea you were into photography." 

"Yes, well." He said. "It's just a hobby. Usually what I end up doing is…" he trailed off, apparently deciding that he didn't want to share.

"What do you end up doing?" She asked, suddenly curious.

"I like to paint," he said. "I like to take pictures of things and then paint them." His ears turned red. He looked embarrassed.

"Are you any good?" She asked, not failing to notice his sudden shyness about the subject.

"Oh, I don't know about that." He said. "It's just for fun."

"Could I see some?" She asked. He looked at her through the corner of his eyes. "I don't know," he said. "I've never showed anyone before." 

"Well, if you don't want to show me the paintings could you show me some photographs?" she asked.

"They're not wizard photographs. They're muggle ones. They don't move," he said.

"I would still like to see them," she said. He frowned, apparently unsure. 

She looked down, and something caught her eye. There was a zippered pouch on the side of the little black bag that the other camera lenses were in, and she could see the ends of a stack of photographs sticking out of it.

"Hey, there are some right there," She said, reaching down and yanking the pictures out.

"Don't!" He said. "Those are mine!" he looked angry, reaching out a hand as if to grab them back. She dodged his hand and looked at the stack. She was shocked to see the first photo was of herself.

"What?" She said. "Hey, this is me," she looked at him. He dropped his hand jadedly and looked embarrassed. 

"Don't take that the wrong way," he said.

She looked at the photo again. "I don't remember having my picture taken. Especially by you, I think I would have recalled that," she said.

"I don't tell people when I'm taking their pictures. It ruins the moment. You were in your element. It was beautiful." He said, frowning at how sappy his words sounded. She looked at the picture again.

It was a very beautiful image. She was sitting at a library table, and there was a soft light from the lantern next to her. There were three or four open books sitting next to her, and she was holding a quill, writing on a slightly crumpled piece of parchment. He had somehow managed to get just her and the faint glow of the lamp in the image, everything outside of that was totally black. 

Hermione looked up at him. "This is a fabulous photo," she said. His ears turned red. "No, it's not." He said. 

She pulled her photo off the top of the stack and placed it on the seat in front of her, before turning to the next picture. She was surprised to see that it was Neville Longbottom.

He was surrounded by green foliage, apparently in the one corner of the greenhouse that was completely covered in plants. He had his hands in the rich earth and a tiny green sprout with a yellow bud on the end was in front of him. His hair was slightly mussed and there was a brown smear of earth on his cheekbone. He was wearing beige overalls and a blue t-shirt. Hermione was surprised to see that where there had been soft, puppy fat looking flesh on his arms when they were younger, there were now visible muscles. On further examination, she realized that Neville had, indeed, lost a lot of weight since their first year, and thinking on it, she realized it was probably from hauling dirt and fertilizers to the greenhouses, helping Sprout out with the manual labor required in a greenhouse. He had become fit beneath all their noses and they had never even noticed. The lighting in the picture was radically different than from in the picture of her, the sun was bright and the image was well lit. The sun seemed to catch in each leaf of foliage in the image, and giving it a green, gem-like appearance. It was Neville, as she had never seen him before. In his element.

She suddenly realized what Severus had meant when he had said t hat he had taken the picture of her when she was in her element. 'It was beautiful,'. He had said. Looking at Neville, she saw what he meant. To see someone in their element, to see them doing the one thing that made them truly happy. For her, it was learning, it was studying, it was grabbing as much knowledge as she could get. For Neville, it was working with plants, making things grow, seeing those green-gem plants every day and loving every moment of it. 

And it was beautiful, indeed.

"You're right," she looked at Severus. He looked puzzled. "What?" he asked.

"It is beautiful." She smiled as his ears turned red again. "You're modest. I like that. And a few weeks ago, I would never have pegged you as a modest person," she grinned at his scowl.

She looked at the next image. The shock of white-blond hair alerted her immediately that it was Draco. She frowned, but looked closely at the image anyways. Draco was sitting in a chair, in what looked to be the library. It was a large, green plush armchair in front of a big bay window. He wasn't wearing shoes, and had his sock feet pulled up onto the chair. His arms were around his knees, hugging them to his chest. His chin was on his knees, and he had a strange melancholy look on his face as he stared out the window. She could swear that the light was catching in his eyes in a way that signaled tears about to roll over his eyelids. 

Hermione looked at Severus. Then back at the image. Then back at Severus. He blinked. "Are you alright?" He asked, lifting a black eyebrow at her. 

"Malfoy looks like he's about to burst into tears in this picture," she said. He leaned over to look at the photo.

"Oh, yeah, that. He'd just been talking to his father. He's still debating on whether to join the deatheaters or not. He doesn't want to, the prospect of it eats him up inside. But if he denies his father that, he'll be disowned from his family, if they don't kill him. You all assume that he's a deatheater already, but that's because he doesn't want news to reach his father that he isn't harassing the muggle borns. Not that he likes you three or anything. He does dislike you intensely. But I think that's mostly jealousy that you guys have it so much easier than him."

Hermione was surprised. She looked at Severus. "You think _Malfoy_ has it harder than _Harry_?" 

Severus blinked. "I don't think it. I know it. Sure, the Dark Lord is after Harry. The Dark Lord wants to kill Harry. But the Dark Lord is not Harry's father. And the only person who has ever pressured Harry to join the deatheaters was Voldemort, and that was only one time. Draco has been pressured his entire life to join a group he doesn't believe in. And he knows that he has two basic choices. Kill or be killed. He doesn't want innocent blood on his hands any more than you do. He doesn't want to be a murderer, but he doesn't want to die, either. The deatheaters don't approach people to join until they've graduated, but you can be earlier initiated if you go to them yourself. As such, they won't come for Draco until the night of his Graduation. I'm trying to convince Albus to offer Draco a post at Hogwarts so that he can reject the offer of them and still be safe by staying in Hogwarts. There's really no other safe place for someone who says 'no' to the dark lord to stay." Severus told her.

She nodded. Suddenly, there was the loud ringing of a bell. They both jumped.

"Lunch Time," she smiled. "You know, you could sit with us if you wanted to," she said. He lifted an eyebrow. "I don't know about that. Your friends are jocks. I've never had much patience with that." He said.

Hermione laughed. "Suit yourself, then. I know I'd be glad to hear something talked about other than Quidditch." She smirked. 

He sneered. "Quidditch. I used to play Quidditch. Damn Quidditch. I couldn't stand Quidditch players even when I was one." He shook his head.

She was puzzled by his words, but before she could inquire, he had packed up his camera and walked off.

****

At Lunch, she sat down at her table. In a few minutes Snape walked over to the Slytherin table. She saw him glance her direction and they locked gazes for a moment before he sat down across the hall from them. She shrugged. Whatever.

She smiled as Neville sat down.

"You know what I've noticed recently, Nev?" She said. He looked at her, and Harry and Ron glanced over, curious.

"What?" Neville's Liverpool accent had faded a bit, being around so many different dialects for so long.

"You're looking really buff these days," she said, smiling at his shocked expression. Ron choked, spraying peas all over the table. Hermione laughed.

"Are you serious?" Neville said. Lavender and Parvati were looking at her as though she'd gone nuts.

"I'm serious," Hermione said. "It must be from all that work you do in the greenhouse. Apprenticing Sprout and everything. I bet she has you doing all the dirty work, like lugging around those huge fifty pound bags of soil," she said.

"Well, yeah. And manure and other fertilizers, of course. And when we get new plant shipments, I'm the one who has to break open all the boxes and everything. With a crowbar, I swear to god they must nail those things shut with a hundred nails, it takes forever. My whole body aches after that. And then there are times when we get really big plants, like the Hungarian Man-Eater or the Roxanne's Frogthroat. The Man-Eater was like ten feet tall. It tried to eat me about eight times while I was planting it. I was about to go get a shovel and beat it into submission. I finally got it to stop once I assured it of my dominance, though. And the Frogthroat was like fifteen feet tall; of course I was the one who had to plant it. Professor Sprout could if she wanted to, she just doesn't want to have to bother with such an ornery thing, and if you even look at it the wrong way it starts screaming at you. I think Trevor thought I had disowned him that week, but really I just wanted to be as far from amphibians as possible. That old thing has calmed down a lot, though. They take awhile to trust you, but once they do, there's not a more beautiful plant around. When it blossoms, it gets these huge violet flowers." He smiled at them. They were surprised.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had never known Neville all that well. Hermione tutored him in Potions and Harry and Ron shared a dorm with him, but they had never really become good friends with him. In fact, he didn't seem to be good friends with anyone. It was always just Neville and Trevor the Toad, and no one except Hermione had really noticed that he was in the greenhouses during ALL of his spare time.

But now that she had pointed out his newfound fitness, the other girls were looking. "Do you really have muscles under there, Nev?" Lavender asked. Neville blushed.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Neville shook his head. Hermione reached over and pushed his sleeve up. Though he was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt under his robes, they could see the outline of his muscles under his shirt.

"My god!" Parvati said. "You really have buffed up. I'm so surprised!" Hermione shot a lot at Parvati for her rude comment.

"You look fabulous, Neville," Ginny Weasley beamed at him. He blushed and stammered something, unused to having all this attention. Hermione grinned. Strange that Severus should notice something in his very least favorite student that said student's own friends had never even realized. Of course, then again, Severus always seemed to see things that others didn't. He'd known about Quirrell ahead of time, known that Lockhart was a moron ahead of time, Known that Lupin was a Werewolf, and had an obvious dislike for Mad-Eye Moody, who had ended up REALLY being Barty Crouch Jr., a convicted and supposed dead Deatheater. 

Hermione realized she had never finished looking at the stack of photos. She would have to hunt Severus down and check the rest of them out. Maybe she could even get him to show her some of his paintings!

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A/N: I know, I know, I'm evil and terrible and horrible for not updating sooner. I swear to god I sat down to write several times but nothing ever came out! Then I got this inspiration, so here you have it. Please enjoy! And PLEASE review!!!

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	11. Chapter Eleven: You're My Friend

Disclaimer: I could be a great star… still I'm far from happy… Nope, that's not mine either. Rufus… again! I love you Rufus! Marry me! Oh if only he were straight -.-…

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Eleven : My Friend**

After Lunch, Hermione went searching for Severus. She hadn't seen him leave the Great Hall, but he'd been gone already when she'd stood up to leave. She had already checked the library, to find that he wasn't there. She'd begun to roam the halls, looking for signs of him. She descended the stairs towards the Slytherin dormitories, hoping to perhaps find him lingering about the Potions classroom.

What she found was unexpected, though. Severus was sitting on top of a large, dark-wooded trunk, facing the opposite wall, eyes closed. His left sleeve was pushed up to his elbow, and blood was coursing at a slow but steady pace across the contrasting alabaster skin. In his right hand was a jagged piece of broken glass, smeared with streaks of red. His fingertips were stained as well. Gruesome though it was, it painted a strangely beautiful picture. The dim, bluish light that resided in the dungeons surrounding the bloodied boy. Pale but beautiful, his raven feather hair wafting strangely to one side, the blank expression relaxing all of his features.

"Severus!" Hermione said, her voice reverberating off the walls of the corridor. It broke the angelic peacefulness that she'd felt upon seeing his martyr-like appearance. His eyes flew open, the dark irises sliding to look at her through the corner of his eyes. He didn't say anything.

"What are you doing?" she cried, feeling her eyebrows knitting together in worry. 

"I think that's fairly obvious," he said. His voice sounded strangely flat and hollow.

Hermione could hear only her own footsteps as she scampered over to him.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" she asked, her knees felt weak.

"I don't know," he said. Unlike previous times, he made no attempt to cover his wound, nor did he look away.

"You're bleeding all over the place," She said, pulling her wand out. She waved a simple spell to stop the bleeding, but the streaks of the thick and impossibly dark blood remained on his flesh. She could see the jagged, torn-looking wounds over the underside of his arm.

"Why are you so concerned with me?" he asked.

"Because I like you!" She blurted. She suddenly realized the weight of what she'd said. She looked away from him nervously, her ears turning red. "I mean you're my friend." She added lamely.

"But…" he blinked. "That's impossible." He said. "That can't be."

She looked at him again. "Why not?" she asked.

"Because you are supposed to hate me. It's practically a law. Everyone hates me. Why should you be any different? It's natural instinct to hate the lowest creatures, such as myself. How can it be that you don't outright despise me? I'm a disgusting, spiteful, bitter, ugly _thing_," his voice sounded near hysterical.

"But you're not! You're an intelligent, insightful, sensitive, beautiful _person_," she countered. He looked suddenly confused.

The whole ordeal felt unreal. A faint humming in the back of Hermione's mind rose to a near-deafening ring in her ears. The situation was overwhelming.

"How can it be that ever since I was born the entire world tells me these things, how can it be that everyone I know tells me these things except for you? You can't be telling the truth if everyone I've ever known has told me different! It's not possible, it has to be the truth or everyone wouldn't say them!"

"But everyone _doesn't_ say them." Hermione said. "I don't say them. I don't think them." He seemed to be utterly confused. His hands came up to his face, his trembling fingers digging into his scalp.

"But that… it can't be…" his voice was a whisper, barely more than a rattling of breath.

Hermione didn't consciously move, but before she knew what was happening, she had wrapped her arms around him. She felt his body trembling, and eventually shaking as he began to sob beneath her touch.

She smoothed his hair with her fingers and rocked slightly, as though comforting a child. He touched her shoulders with his shaking hands as he cried, the tears falling onto his hands and arms, leaving clean streaks through the blood.

****

After he quieted, and she released her hold on him, he looked away from her. She looked at him, her heart and mind buzzing in the intensity of what had just happened. He seemed to have the need to move his hands, and repeatedly touched his hair and his face nervously.

"What happened?" Hermione asked at last.

"My dorm mates moved all my belongings out into the corridor." He said. "…and I got a letter saying that one of my brothers is dead."

"Oh, God," Hermione's hand covered her mouth. He cradled his wounded arm against his chest, his face turned away from her.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes, well." His fingertips ran across the magically-healing wound nervously. "I didn't know him very well. He was a fraternal twin. My parents, they sent him to Beauxbatons. They didn't want me to have an influence on him, they said he might turn rotten if he interacted with me without their supervision. They considered Beauxbatons a superior school, and I guess they were right. I mean, he never joined up with the Dark Lord. He became a Mediwizard for some hospital. My parents are dreadfully proud of him." 

She got over her shock at how his parents seemed to have treated him, and said, softly. "Where will you sleep if your dorm mates have kicked you out?" 

"I don't know," he said. Her attempt to change the subject seemed to have worked. "They changed the password, too, so I can't get in at all."

"Well," Hermione murmured. "I suppose we ought to get you cleaned up, and then we should go see the Headmaster about finding you somewhere else to stay."

"I suppose." He nodded. He looked at her cautiously. "Please don't tell anyone about this," he said.

"I wouldn't. Not ever." She told him forcefully. "You can trust me, Severus. I wouldn't talk trash about you. You're my friend." 

He gave a half-smile, and they walked towards the nearest lavatory so he could wash up.

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A/N: It's short, I know, I know. And late -.- sorry. I just really don't like this story much when I go back through and read it. But I feel I have to tie up the loose ends, so I'm beginning to attack what's left in the story. Maybe I'll update again soon, maybe not. But I assure you, I WILL update. I know, also that this LOOKS like it's going to develop into a romance due to Hermione's seeming feelings for Severus. Don't worry, there will be no romance between them. I promise. There are some more surprises waiting ^_^


	12. Chapter Twelve: Rant and Roar

Disclaimer: If I should die before I wake, I commend my soul into this ache… yay for Blues Traveler! I saw them live, they were really stupendous ^_^ Oh yeah, I don't own Harry Potter. So sue me! Erm.. I mean don't sue me. And I don't own Blues Traveler. But I do own their CDs ^_^

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Twelve: Rant And Roar**

Two months had passed quickly. Hermione could tell that Severus was becoming increasingly frustrated with his position as a youth. The teachers and students would have imagined he would have gotten more used to it as time passed, but he seemed to be getting more and more displeased with it.

"I can't take it anymore!" He said, throwing his satchel on the library table heavily. Madame Pince looked like she was about to shush him for being noisy in the library, but he glared at her, and in turn she simply huffed and turned away.

"You should find a way to bottle that glare and sell it. You'll make a million," Hermione said, glancing up from her Transfigurations essay. Severus gave her a cynical look, at which she simply grinned. She loved that he was so wry all the time. Once she'd gotten used to it, she couldn't imagine him being any other way.

Their friendship had grown to the point that she was spending nearly all of her time with him. Not to mention that she was so lovesick over him she talked about him whenever she wasn't with him.

"What can't you take, then?" She asked.

"Oh, right," he said, reminded of his previous angry outburst. "I can't take _this_! Being stuck in this stupid… child body. All of my colleagues are treating me like a student! It's appalling! At least as an adult they left me enough alone,"

"Well, if you weren't so frightening towards Neville all the time, he wouldn't be so nervous and blunder as much in your class," Hermione said vaguely. She had grown used to him complaining of his child-like status. It happened on a regular basis.

"I can't help that he's a complete idiot," Severus snapped. "He's practically a squib, he shouldn't even _be_ in Hogwarts."

"Hey, no need to be harsh," Hermione said. She didn't think about the fact that at the beginning of her year she would have thought it folly to even suggest Snape be anything _but_ harsh.

"It's his fault," Severus grumbled.

"You just like to point out people's mistakes." Hermione said, giving him a stern glare. He huffed slightly and looked away. "And I think that those sort of times are when you should remember that only he without faults may cast the first stone. You wouldn't like it if people badgered you about _your_ mistakes."

His ears burned red. "No, I _don't_ like it, and people _do_ badger me about my mistakes. Not that I don't give them a reason to. It's a vicious circle," he smirked without humor.

"You're in a bad mood today," Hermione said.

"I've got another detention with that… that potions _wench_," he snarled the last word with absolute distaste.

"What for?" Hermione said.

"Some ridiculous accusation that I stole potions ingredients from _her_ office. More like MY office! As if taking ingredients from my own stores is stealing! To top that off, I didn't even take any!" he ranted.

"That's absurd. Couldn't they use Veritaserum or something to find out?"

Severus shook his head. "I'm allergic to it." He said.

"Allergic?" Hermione said. She blinked at him blankly. "Whoever heard of someone being allergic to Veritaserum?"

He shrugged. "All I know is that if I drink it, I cough up blood and die (without treatment)."

"How awful!" Hermione said, her hand in front of her mouth.

"Well, that's life. There are certain alternatives, but they know I could fight pretty much every single alternative they give me." He shrugged.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to deal with it." Hermione said. He grimaced, and pulled out a potions book he was halfway through.

****

Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table for dinner. Ron looked at her, before frowning at the table. She instantly launched into a discussion about how Severus was allergic to Veritaserum and which ingredients might have been the ones that he's allergic to. Suddenly, Ron slammed his fork onto the table.

"Shut-Up!" He snapped at her. She stared at him dumbly.

"What on Earth is the matter with you?" She said, scared at his anger.

"All you ever do is talk about HIM." Ron snapped. "I don't care what he's allergic to or why," he glared at her with narrowed eyes.

"You're just jealous because I'm friends with him," she said softly.

"Exactly!" Ron said. He threw his hands up. By now, the entire table was listening, while trying to hide the fact that they were (though not discreetly). Ron shook his head. "You just don't see it, do you?" Hermione blinked at him, her eyebrows furrowed together.

"See what? He's a really good friend once you get to know him,"

"That's not the point!" Ron rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't care what he's like! I don't care!" he shouted. He visibly tried to calm himself down. "I mean, Jesus, Hermione," he shook his head again. "Me and Harry never ever _see_ you anymore! You're _always_ with Snape! And when you're not, you might as well be with how you talk about him! I mean, Christ, if you're going to be friends with him that's all well and good. And if you're going to stay friends with us, well that's fantastic. But don't just pretend your friends with us. It's obvious you care more about him anyways!" Ron snapped. 

Harry rubbed the back of his neck as Ron stood up and stormed away. Hermione rubbed tears away from her eyes. "Have I really been that bad, Harry?" she asked.

"Hate to say it, Mione," Harry shook his head. "You really have been ignoring us a lot. Ron's having much more trouble dealing with it. I understand though, Hermione. I mean, I know you're so much incredibly smarter than the two of us. You just never seemed bothered by it before. But now, you found someone who you can talk to about smart stuff, and not, like, dumb yourself down for us. I understand that you're excited about having Snape as a friend. It just… it still hurts, y'know?" Harry smiled at her sadly.

"I didn't mean to… Harry, you have to understand… I really… I care about you two… I didn't even realize… you'll always be my friends…" she said helplessly.

"Well," Harry said thoughtfully. "Maybe you should spend a little more time with us. Try and mend what you've done to Ron, I think he's had an aneurysm, really," He looked at her comfortingly. "I understand, really. Just… still," he stood up slowly.

"Let's go… y'know… see if Ron hasn't thrown himself off the Astronomy tower," Harry smirked. Hermione stood, sniffling softly, and followed Harry.

****

Severus sat in the library alone. He sat in a large, overstuffed green armchair that overlooked the grounds. He could see her from where he sat. On the Quidditch pitch, laughing at Ron and Harry's antics on their brooms. A familiar dazed, hazy, relaxed feeling encompass him. It wasn't enough, though, to keep his bitter feelings contained.

"Stupid Gryffindors," he grumbled. "Stupid Quidditch. Stupid Hermione,"

They had been meeting in the library after dinner every night for nearly a month and a half. It had come to be expected. The past two days, he hadn't seen her at all. She had given him apologetic notes during classes canceling anything she had agreed to do. He tried to convince himself that he didn't care. 

"Liar," he said to himself. Of course he cared. The insufferable, arrogant know-it-all had quickly become his closest friend. It suddenly hadn't seemed to matter that she was a Gryffindor, a mudblood, and some twenty years younger than him. Until the accident, that is. All that mattered was that she had respected him, treated him kindly even when he hadn't been so kind to her, and stood by him with a Slytherin-like loyalty. 

She was his one and only friend in such a lonely time in his life. It seemed in the past few years he had completely isolated himself from anyone he had ever considered even a little bit of a friend. They had all become suspicious after Dizzy. Dizzy had been the final straw. 

He knew when he'd allowed himself to care about Hermione that all good things must come to an end. He'd known that when he'd been friends with Dizzy and Lyra, too. He knew that, all in all, no one would _ever_ stand by him. He'd come into the world alone, grown up alone, and a brief period he'd been happy. When he'd run away from his life back to Hogwarts yet again, he'd made himself more alone than ever. Hermione's adopting him as her best friend had seemed too good to be true.

"It was," he snarled to himself, hugging his knees to his chest. Again, again, alone.

He watched as Hermione, cheeks rosy from the wind, laughed and teased her friends as they came inside from the Gryffindor Quidditch practice. He brushed his ever-growing raven colored hair out from in front of his face. The library was dark and empty. He saw Madame Pince gazing at him curiously from her desk. He couldn't take it anymore, the staring. He stood up, grabbed his bag, and stormed out. She hadn't even bothered to cancel this time. She'd just left him hopeful and let him down.

"Doesn't everyone, though?" He murmured to himself as he walked towards the guest quarters Albus had let him move into. He still didn't figure how being in guest quarters was any less conspicuous to Voldemort than staying in his own rooms, but he was too tired to argue about it. 

As he walked towards his rooms, hands thrust into his pockets, a gloomy look on his face, he halted, seeing three pairs of sneakers pause in front of him. He looked up into the faces of Ron, Harry, and Hermione, windblown as they were, with the breathless air of people who'd just come in from the cold.

"Oh, hey, Snape." Ron said, a sudden suspicious look on his face. Severus felt a strange but somehow familiar apprehension creeping up into his chest as he looked at the three friends. "I'd prefer you gave me the simple dignity of addressing me properly," Severus said, a bitter tone to his voice.

"Right, _Severus_, then," Ron said, adding a lisp to his voice as he pronounced Severus's name. "What kind of a name is that, anyways?" Ron said. "It sounds gay,"

Severus felt his ears burning. "Well, you'll have to consult my parents on that matter. I don't recall choosing it, _Ronald_," he said, just as offensively.

"Stop it, Ron," Harry said suddenly.

"I don't need your defense, Potter," Severus snarled.

Harry gave him an irritated look. "You know, it might be easier for us to treat you with respect if you treated us with a little." He said calmly. Harry was learning to keep his temper.

Severus swallowed. "I apologize," he said. "I didn't mean to lower myself to Weasley's level." He blinked, hard, struggling to keep his eyes focused. He was starting to feel tired.

Ron glared. Severus turned to him. "You can glare all you want, you ungrateful little bastard," he snarled. "Don't you always get what you want in the end anyways?! I'll just toss myself off the North tower and make your life perfect!" 

Ron looked suddenly surprised. He gave Severus a suspicious look. "Whatever floats your boat, Snape," he growled.

"You think I wouldn't do it?!" Severus exclaimed shrilly. He was irritatingly aware of a bit of the sorter hair on the back of his head pricking him in the neck. "What in the hell makes you think I've got a pleasant enough life to want to stay here?"

Ron reddened. "You know, I really would have expected you to appreciate Hermione a bit more, with all she does for you!" He said.

Severus looked at him with a bewildered and frustrated look. "What?!" he shrieked. "What does this have to do with _her_?" He pointed roughly at Hermione.

"Well, you know, you seem so depressed all the time, and she really worries about that! You'd think you might try to at least show her you appreciate her friendship!" Ron snapped.

"Appreciate what? Appreciate her becoming my friend and making me think for…" Severus narrowed his eyes. "For just a while that I might actually be worth something, only to throw me to the dustbin the second you show a little discomfiture?" his voice was shaking now. "To think that I actually believed that anyone would want to be around such a miserable creature as myself as opposed to being around the jolly, fun-loving," Severus spat the words as though they were poison. "_golden boys_ of Gryffindor? To think, it never crossed my mind that it might have all just been a great prank against me," Harry, Ron, and Hermione were staring at him in surprise. Hermione had a guilty, and upset look on her face. "A sort of… see who can make that greasy git Snape hate himself even _more_," He was suddenly feeling weak, his emotions running rampant on his face, the hurt, the betrayal, the anger. "Well I guess you won, because I don't think I could despise my lowly existence any more than I do now,"

He pushed away the impulse to cry with a vicious clenching of his hands, in which his fingernails sank painfully into the skin. Harry and Ron stared dumbly.

"Uh…" Ron said. His face was red in embarrassment. "Well… but…" he stuttered for the right words.

"Don't even bother," Severus shook his head, bending to pick his bag off the floor. "Just… don't," he frowned at them, his tired eyes speaking volumes. He scowled at how they stood barring the way. The walked straight at them, pushing Ron aside with his shoulder, and disappearing down the dark corridor.

****

Hermione ran up, grabbing Severus by the shoulder as he unlocked the door to his quarters. "Severus-" she said, her eyebrows furrowed. "I…"

He looked at her. "You know, I didn't think that you were like that. I thought you were too young, too honest, too good-hearted to do that. You could have at least told me that you were going back to the days of old when there was nothing could stop the famous Gryffie trio," he said. "You could have told me you didn't want to see me anymore. For Christ's sake, Hermione," he said, wrenching his shoulder out of her hand and walking into his quarters. He closed the door behind him, leaving her in the empty hallway. She rapped lightly on the dark wooded door.

"Severus…" she said. "I didn't mean to… I still want to be your friend… Severus…" she called. There was no answer. After awhile, she gave up and trudged back up to Gryffindor Tower.

****


	13. Chapter Thirteen: I Don't Know Why

Disclaimer: Obey Your Thirst.

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Thirteen: I Don't Know Why**

Harry and Ron were concerned. They'd been a bit disturbed by Snape's outburst, and when Hermione had returned to the Gryffindor commons alone and upset. She hadn't had to tell them for them to know that she'd had no luck talking to the brooding boy. 

"God," Ron said, pacing around in front of the fire. "God," he said again, slumping into a chair.

"Ron, just calm down, everything will work out in the end." Harry said.

"But what if it doesn't?! This is all my fault! You know… I… I can't stand to see her so upset like this. I care so much about her. She really seemed to connect with that stupid git, and now I've gone and made her think she needs to ignore him, and that makes him feel bad, and it's all because of me! Now she's probably crying and it's my fault!" Ron pinched the bridge of his nose. Harry frowned slightly. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"It'll be okay, Ron. I mean, we're in dark waters now or whatever, but we'll pass through the storm soon enough," Harry said.

"What the hell?" Ron asked, not having understood what Harry was trying to say. "You know what, no… no! I mean, what if he kills himself? You heard him! He talked about what a horrible life his was and everything! And he's totally right, too! I mean, nobody treats him nicely, not even the Slytherins, they kicked him out of the dorm, for Christ's sake! And Hermione was, like, his saving grace or whatever, and now he's got nothing to keep him from flying off the panhandle!"

"Ron, calm down. Hermione'll talk to him tomorrow and then they'll make up or whatever, and it'll all work out." Harry said, shaking his head. Granted, he felt bad about what had happened, too. He and Ron hadn't meant to forcibly remove Snape from Hermione's life. They just wanted a fair share of her time, too.

"How can you be so optimistic?!" Ron said.

"Because, Ron!" Harry snapped. "Because! It's what I have to do! If you think it's the end of the world all the time, then it will be! You can't live in a world of bad feelings. You have to keep yourself lifted so that you can survive. It's just what I do, okay?!" he said. Ron frowned, and Harry turned away.

"Okay, Harry. Okay." Ron finally said. He stood up. "So that's what you need to do to deal. I don't know what it is about that damned Snape, but he just keeps sucking us into _his_ issues. Either way, though, I can't just sit here and hope for the best like you. I'm going to go talk to him."

Harry stood up. "I'll come with you," Harry said.

Ron held his hand out, and Harry stopped.

"No, Harry. I need to… I just need to talk to him alone. Maybe I can fix this." Ron said. "It's… it's just gotta be me, okay Harry? Nothing personal. I just need to do this for myself, alright?"

Harry nodded. "I'll wait up for you?" he said.

Ron shook his head again. "Nah. I don't know how long this'll take. If I have to wait for four hours, banging on his goddamned door, I will. But I don't think he'll just let me in, right?" Ron said. "You go on up. Maybe I'll be back soon, maybe I won't," he shrugged. Harry nodded, and watched as Ron walked out of the commons. After a few moments, he sighed resignedly and walked up the staircase to the boys' dorms.

****

Ron waited for twenty minutes. He sighed, and slid down with his back to the Slytherin's door. He rested for a while, and when he heard movement inside the rooms, he stood up and knocked on the door.

"C'mon, Sna- Severus. Let me in! I need to talk to you!" He shouted. This went on for a while. He had just given up again for the moment, leaning his forehead against the cool, smooth wood. He gave another feeble, "Come on!" before he leaned fully against it.

And that moment, Severus opened the door. Due to Ron's positioning, he overbalanced and crashed into the unsuspecting Slytherin. Ron heard a short "Oof," from Severus as they tumbled to the floor. Ron pinned Severus to the floor for a moment, before coming to his senses and tearing himself up.

"That hurt," Severus said, glaring up at Ron, before Ron extended his hand to help the boy up. Severus took it suspiciously, pulling himself to his feet.

"Sorry. I was, er, leaning on the door," Ron said awkwardly. Severus frowned.

"I figured as much. Why are you here?" he was straightforward.

Ron closed the door, enshrouding them in darkness. "Oh," Ron said, surprised. "I didn't realize it was so dark in here…" he said. He heard a snap of fingers, and light appeared from small bluish orbs, seemingly floating in mid-air against the stone walls of the room. Ron jumped slightly. He realized that he and Severus were almost the exact same height, Severus only a hair taller than Ron. 

"Why. Are. You. Here." Severus said firmly.

"I wanted to apologize," Ron said. He felt himself blushing. He'd never talked to Snape alone like this before. He had to admit, the dark and mysterious aura that seemed to surround Severus interested him, but most of the time that interest was masked by his intense loathing of the Gryffindor-hating man.

"Why the change of heart?" Severus asked. He walked into the open portion of the room. There was a sitting room with a large bay window. Severus pulled his lank form onto the window seat, the moonlight from the night sky outlining his lean form. Ron thought it was an unusually beautiful sight. 

_Stop thinking like a fucking homo,_ Ron thought viciously to himself.

"Hermione's really upset. You know, me and Harry…" Ron said. "Well, it was mostly me, I guess. Hermione's our best friend, you know. We're a team. But… when you came along and she, like, befriended you. Well, she just forgot about us. Left us in the dust." Ron saw that Snape had turned to look at him, his dark eyes intense in the dim light.

"I was so upset. If she wasn't with you, she was talking about how great you are. Like we didn't even exist. I got really upset and told her that if she was going to be your friend that was fine and well, but not to just be pretending to be our friends because it was familiar. You know. I guess I made her choose. She didn't really choose us over you, though. I guess it was just that you kind of mask your emotions or whatever. She didn't know you were so upset, I guess. And then you were all mad at her. She wouldn't even talk to us, she just went straight to bed tonight. I felt so guilty. Harry kept saying, it'll be okay, just wait it out, but I'm not like that. I can't just sit and wait for something to fix itself. I felt like… like I had to fix this." Ron was ranting, but he didn't really notice. "I felt like I ruined something really special between you and Hermione, like I destroyed this really great thing for her. I never meant to… be such a… stupid git." Ron shook his head. His amber hair gleamed in the dim light.

"You're being remarkably civil," Severus said quietly.

"Look, man, I don't have anything personal against you. I guess you got dealt some rotten cards or whatever. Look, all I know about you is how you've treated me and Harry in class, which you have to admit, isn't all that pleasant. In my mind, you've kind of always been that mean scowling guy taking points off Gryffindor. I guess you've kind of changed since all this shit happened and everything. I just didn't make the connection, y'know? You haven't really bothered me and Harry since you and Hermione became friends. I just… shit, I don't even know. I was jealous, I guess." 

"Understandably so," Severus said. "I wasn't trying to steal her, you know. All I thought was that I was really fortunate to have someone to talk to. Never had that the first time round, you know."

Ron looked at Snape, smiling crookedly. "Maybe, tomorrow, you eat with us." Ron said. "I'm not saying we're friends or anything," Snape give a small smirk at this. "But it would mean a lot to Hermione if you could get along with me and Harry."

"I don't know about Harry," Severus said seriously. 

"Oh, now, come on. He's a really nice guy." Ron said, scratching his head. 

"It's just. He reminds me so much of his father," Severus looked away, angrily. "He's so much like James."

"Is that such a bad thing after all?" Ron said defensively.

"Yes! James Potter was an arrogant, cruel, popular _jerk_. Do you have any idea how many times he publicly humiliated me before I started defending myself from him? He did spells that hung me upside down in the air, spells that made soap foam at my mouth, he hung me in a fucking tree once! And, being friendless, everyone though it was so funny and wouldn't help me get down. I couldn't bend the way to get myself out of it, I had to wait until Dumbledore and McGonagall came out with a big pole to cut me out, because by that time I'd gotten my robes so tangled up…" Severus grimaced, shaking his head with the memory, and looked away.

Ron frowned. That didn't sound like what he'd heard about James Potter. He decided not to push it, though. "Harry's not like that. He would never be. His cousin would do stuff like that to him, so he knows what it's like. He'd never…" 

Severus frowned. "Look, Weasley,"

Ron gave a frustrated sound. He was starting to get angry. "You know what, Severus, just remember that this is for Hermione. Please be civil."

Severus cleared his throat. "Ron. Better?" he asked. Ron nodded. "I can try. That's all I can promise. I'll try." He held his hands up. "All I can do."

Ron smiled. "Excellent." He said. "I think we can make it work, right?"

"Maybe," Severus said darkly. He still looked a bit moody. Ron bit his lip. Why was Snape still upset? he wondered. He sat on a wooden bench. He noticed vaguely that there was a piano behind him, and he was sitting on a piano bench. He hadn't realized that Snape played the piano.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked.

Severus looked at him. "I said I'd try," he snapped. "What more do you want from me?"

Ron was surprised. "No, I mean… you look upset." He said flatly.

Severus looked at him sideways. He stretched his legs out languidly, leaning his head against the cool windowpane. "I guess. I haven't had the best few days."

Ron wasn't sure what to say. He'd never really had to comfort anyone before, even Harry, had always been so optimistic, he'd never needed comforting. This was an entirely new experience for Ron, though he had to admit, the idea of helping someone else feel better was a good one.

Severus brought his hand up and touched the window that was steaming from his breath. His fingerprints trailed darkly through the small cloud. Ron shivered, unexpectedly. He felt his eyebrows furrow together. Where had that come from?

"I…" Severus trailed off. He looked over at the blue-eyed redhead who was staring so intently at him. He smiled suddenly, and gave a small puff of a laugh. "You don't care, though," he shook his head at his own seeming folly, before looking away again.

"No, really. I mean… I just… I don't like it when people are… upset…" Ron said lamely.

"I don't know what it is about me, you know," Severus said. "I'm just always… unhappy. Even when I am in a good place in my life, even when Hermione was my friend-" he said.

"She's still your friend," Ron said.

"Yes, well. I just… I'm always unhappy. I don't even know why. Like, sometimes, I just burst out-" he began. He paused before looking away again. "I just don't know why. It's not even for any reason. It's like there's this big knot inside of me, and it just gets tighter and tighter in my chest every day. I don't know what to do. And now this, me turning back into my old self, everything feels ten times more intense than before. You know, I tried to kill myself four or five times when I was a student," he said. "It just all seems so futile and worthless. Like I have absolutely no purpose at all. Like no one would miss me, or even notice if I just vanished." He laid his palm against the smooth glass. 

Ron hadn't noticed himself standing up and walking over to the other boy. Man? Ron didn't know what to think. 

"I just…" Severus scowled. "I feel stupid."

"Well, you're anything but stupid. Which is why Hermione likes you so much, you know, I think she fancies you, too."

Severus had a disbelieving look on his face. "I doubt it," he snorted.

"She's completely infatuated." Ron said. He touched the cool windowpane distractedly. Severus pulled his legs up to give Ron somewhere to sit.

"But… why would anyone like this?" Severus pointed to his face.

"What to you mean?" Ron said. He though Severus's features all fit together in an unconventional, but altogether somewhat pleasing way.

"Look at this nose! This face! It's like looking at Lucifer himself, it's disgusting," Severus said.

"You're kidding, right?" Ron asked. Severus looked puzzled.

"Come on, man. You're perfectly nice looking." Ron said as though it were an obvious fact. 

"You're pulling my leg," Severus said.

"No!" Ron said. "You've got a very strong, kind of… dark and intense look about you. But your eyelashes are really long and soft looking, which make your eyes look very sensitive and beautiful," he heard his inner mind shouting at him, but he couldn't seem to stop. "Your nose is very strong. It's a little hooked, but no matter, it would look unnatural any other way. You've got a strong jaw line, and a very… a nice mouth, you know," Ron trailed off. He felt a blush coming to his face. He could see Snape's ears burning red.

"Are you gay?" Snape asked, his voice breaking through the awkward silence. The words hung in the air for a sickening moment in Ron's mind.

"I… don't… I don't…" Ron stuttered. Suddenly, he leapt up and stumbled backwards towards the door. "I don't…" he said again. "I have to go, right now." He said. He had a panicked and confused look on his face. 

Severus stood up and walked over as Ron searched for the doorknob. 

"You are, aren't you?" Severus asked. His eyebrows had furrowed together, though not in anger. He looked more like he was concerned than angry or disgusted.

Ron paused and leaned his head against the door. "It can't be," he whimpered. "I can't be a… a… a faggot…"

"That's a really offensive term, you know," Severus said.

Ron looked so distraught, though, that Severus just watched him in concern. "Am I really?" he finally said.

"Well, you know, one way to find out," Severus said. Ron looked at him.

"How's that?" Ron asked.

Severus pushed forward in one move, suddenly his body was pressed against Ron's. His mouth planted itself firmly on Ron's lips. Ron's eyes were wide in surprise, meeting the obsidian pools of Severus's eyes. Ron felt the warmth and a tingle from his lips. After a moment, his frightened thoughts of homosexuality vanished and he found that his eyes had closed as he sank into the kiss. One hand came up to tangle itself in Severus's hair. As soon as Ron had relaxed into the embrace, Severus seemed to have begun kissing him in earnest.

Ron whimpered slightly against Severus's lips, and they separated for air momentarily. Severus's face hung by Ron's ear.

"You know," Severus said, his voice low and breathy in a pleasant way. He seemed out of breath and a bit shaken. "I always did have a soft spot for red haired boys,"

Ron suddenly felt the full force of his terror. He pushed Severus roughly away, turning to yank the door open and run down t he hall. Severus watched as the freckled boy got smaller and smaller. He watched as Ron turned and looked back when he reached the end of the hall. Severus knew that Ron could see him, and he caught the boy's eye. Ron turned and ran up the staircase, heading back towards the Gryffindor commons.

****

A/N: HAH! I told you it wasn't going to be a romance between Sev and Hermione! Showed you now didn't I! There's a surprising and disappointing lack of Ron/ Severus fics. So I know all you lovely slashers are going to go out and write me some, aren't you? Bet you didn't see this one coming, eh?

**To all you homophobic flamers: Flame all you want. I like getting reviews : )**


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Blushing At Breakfast

Disclaimer: I disclaim this. No own. Booyah!

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Fourteen: Blushing at Breakfast**

Harry had been awake when Ron returned. He heard the boy arrive in the dorm, with a breathless and upset air. He pushed aside his bed curtains and looked at Ron as he changed into his pajamas.

"Are you alright, Ron? What happened?" Harry asked.

"I… fuck," Ron shook his head. He still looked shaken. 

"Jesus, you look as though you've seen a ghost, Ron," Harry didn't really think of the fact that they saw ghosts on a regular basis. "What did he do to you?"

Ron gave him a bewildered look. "Nothing!" His voice cracked. He cleared his throat. "Look, Harry, nothing happened. I fixed it s best I could. I made a kind of truce with him and I said maybe he could eat with us tomorrow to make Hermione feel better. I mean if we get along with him, it'll all work out perfectly, right? That's what I was thinking," Ron shook his head. "But I… now, I don't know if he will, he seemed all right at first, but now," Ron brought a shaky hand up to his mouth. His fingers trembled against his lips.

"So something did happen," Harry was confused. 

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, Harry. It was my fault, I didn't mean to… but I just… you know…" Ron trailed off.

Harry frowned slightly.

"I just need to think for awhile, Harry. It's okay." He said. Harry felt uneasy at his friend's discomfort, but decided to leave well enough alone.

****

Severus stared at his ceiling. It had certainly not been the right thing to do, kissing the Weasley boy. He hadn't even known he was going to do it until his mouth made contact. He frowned to himself, his index finger rubbing along his bottom lip. He could still feel Ron's mouth.

He couldn't think of a more intense kiss he'd ever had. It just seemed so abrupt, without warning. He hadn't been lying when he'd said he had a soft spot for redheads, he'd always though red hair was an unusually attractive trait, but he'd never really considered Ron. Maybe it was because he remembered him as a student.

Severus cursed himself silently. "He's still a student, you old fool," he said roughly to himself. "Fifteen fucking years old, he's a fucking baby, why, gods," Severus shook his head. It seemed that his body, being fifteen years old, found nothing wrong with the idea of sexual contact with another fifteen-year-old. No matter what his mind said about the matter. And it seemed to him that his older, wiser mind was becoming less and less prominent as he was encompassed with the true youth of his situation.

"Oh, fuck it," he said He flicked at an un-smoked cigarette on his bedside table. He'd grabbed the pack when Ron had left and proceeded to hack and cough for nearly ten minutes after trying to smoke one. He remembered that he didn't start smoking until just after university, and his child-body didn't have that wonderfully protective coat of tar on his throat to make it possible for him to smoke.

Unfortunate how badly he was craving a cigarette. He knew that the addictiveness of the nicotine was not in effect, again due to his body change, but he also had something of a mental attachment to the harmless looking things. He longed for the tingling relaxation he'd have once gotten from smoking one. Frowning, he flicked the cigarette away.

"Probably for the best," he said. "They do cause lung cancer, after all,"

He stood up and walked into his sitting room. He wasn't sure if he was going to go ahead and eat with the three Gryffindors. As it was, there were only four hours until breakfast would start, and he knew he wouldn't be sleeping at all that night. He imagined Ron and Harry and Hermione would have been asleep for hours and hours already.

Damn his internal struggles. "I should just obliviate myself into thinking I really am fifteen again. It would just make things so much easier." He said, though not actually serious about obliviating himself. Obliviate was dangerous, even for illegal curses.

He walked around his quarters, hands pushed firmly into his dressing gown, his white, pinstriped pajamas peeking out from beneath the heavy black material. He wandered over to the piano, striking a few keys on it absently. He'd been so pleased when Albus had agreed to let him keep it in the guest rooms. He'd had it moved up from his old quarters immediately. The idea of that disgusting bitch Lila touching the beautiful instrument made him feel ill. 

He was aware, however, that any late-night piano in the dark would result in McGonagall yelling at him. Damn her for being in the rooms next to his, he was never allowed to do anything fun. He smirked at the childishness of his previous thought, before slumping into the window-seat. He leaned his head against the cold glass and thought about the mess he'd made of things.

"Damn hormones."

****

The next morning, he looked a mess. After he'd come out of the shower, he'd dried the cheek-length hair, cursing about how fast it always seemed to grow. He parted it, slightly to the side. He frowned at how limp his hair always was, and wondered how Ron could have possibly seen him as attractive. 

He walked to his wardrobe and put on a pair of dark jeans and a simple completely black, long-sleeved t-shirt. He vaguely recognized it as his body being parallel with the approximate time he'd stopped wearing such flashy clothing.

"Must be some sort of psychological development," he said. "Apparently taste depends on the age,"

He thought for a moment, before grabbing a simple but strangely elegant all-black robe. He pulled it on; he'd always liked the way robes had fit. They were comfortable but elegant. He smiled at his dark appearance. Looked like soon he'd be wearing all black again. He smoothed his hair out again, before adjusting the collar of the robes and leaving the room. The dark circles under his eyes were blatant evidence of his sleepless night. He'd been right to know he wouldn't be sleeping at all that night. In the end, he'd taken out a book of crossword puzzles and wasting his time on them. He'd never had much of a passion for crossword puzzles, but people always seemed to get him crossword books for Christmas and birthdays and whatnot. So he had an over-abundance of them, and with nothing else to do, he'd gone ahead and completed an entire book.

He took a deep breath. In the end he had decided to go ahead and sit with the infamous Gryffindor trio, though he was sure Ron wouldn't want him to _now_. After what had _happened_.

He walked slowly, thoughtfully. He appeared in the Great Hall. It seemed that most everyone was already there. He walked carefully towards the Gryffindor table, aware that people were staring at him. Ron looked up, his face burning a little bit red when he saw Severus. The other boy's embarrassment set of a feeling in Severus's ears that he knew was the damnable blush.

He also noticed that Ron didn't look like he'd gotten much sleep, either. He was a little pale and there were circles under his eyes. Severus sniffed slightly, self consciously, before he ambled over to where they were sitting. He stood awkwardly for a moment, before pulling out an empty chair and seating himself next to Hermione. Unfortunately, he was now sitting directly across from Ron. He could feel the boys legs brushing against his, them both being so long-legged. He rubbed his ears as he felt them blushing again.

"Damned," he muttered to himself. 

Hermione, however, looked so happy and pleased that he couldn't bring himself to leave. He cursed at the manipulation she was unaware she had on him, before he looked at what was on the table. He made no move to reach for anything. He wasn't feeling particularly hungry.

_For food, that is,_ his mind whispered wickedly. Dirty images involving a certain redhead flooded his mind, and he felt himself blushing again. "Christ," he said aloud.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Oh! Nothing," he blinked. "I'm just a bit tired, is all,"

He noticed that Harry kept looking back and forth from him to Ron, although the two of them were trying very hard not to look at each other.

"Well, have some food, it should wake you up,"

Severus looked again at the food laid before them. He reached for a sort of muffin that was sitting on a plate. He examined it carefully.

"Do you think this has nuts in it?" He said vaguely.

"Yeah, I just had one of those," Harry said.

"Mm," Severus frowned.

"Don't you like nuts?" Ron asked.

Severus felt his ears burning at hearing the other boy's voice. Why did he feel so damned awkward?

"I'm allergic to them," he said.

"Really? What happens if you eat them?" Harry asked, conversationally.

"I die." Severus said simply.

"Wow," Harry said. "That's kind of scary."

"I'm used to it. I'm allergic to fucking everything," Severus shook his head. "I not supposed to eat any of these things, really," he looked at the food before him. "Actually, I could have one of those oranges," he said. He reached over and grabbed one.

"What all are you allergic to?" Hermione asked, curious.

"I'm allergic to so much, it isn't even funny," he scowled.

"Well, like what?" Harry asked. Ron had gone quiet again, and was simply looking at Severus shyly.

"Well, like Milk, and eggs, strawberries… soy and shellfish, and nuts, of course… there are some spices that I'm allergic to, like basil… cinnamon," he shrugged. "I'm also allergic to bees and wasps and the likes of them. Not that I eat them, if I get stung," he said.

"Heh," Harry said.

"So if you get stung by a bee, do you, like swell up?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. I have about a minute before I die." He shrugged. "I mean I'm _really_ allergic to them." He reached into his bag and pulled out a small pen-like device. He pulled the cap off, showing them that down inside was a wicked, sharp-looking metal thing. "If I get stung, I have to stab myself with this. It will keep me from having an allergic reaction. It lasts for about twenty minutes so I can get to a hospital or a doctor or something," he capped it and put it back in his bag. "I've only had to use it once," he said.

"Wow, you _are_ allergic to everything." Ron smirked.

"Well, I had to learn how to cook, because I could never eat anything that was prepared for me," he said.

"You can cook?" Harry seemed to be being overly pleasant. Severus felt slightly suspicious.

"Not very well. But enough, I suppose." He said.

"Well, then." Harry said.

There was an awkward silence. Severus moved his leg, accidentally brushing against Ron's in a seemingly insistent way. Ron and Severus both blushed quite obviously at the exact same time.

"Okay, what the hell is up with you two?" Hermione asked. They looked at her.

"Why, what do you mean?" Severus said, flatly and unconvincingly.

"You keep blushing at each other! What the heck?" she seemed puzzled. Severus clapped his hands over his ears, feeling them blushing even redder. Ron looked away, and Severus noticed that the blush went down his neck and disappeared into his shirt collar. He felt himself wondering how far it went.

"Arrrgh," he said clasping his hands together on the back of his neck and letting his head thump against the table. He sat back up after a breath.

"What's going on, seriously," Harry said. "What happened with you two last night?" he narrowed his eyes at Ron and Severus.

"Nothing!" Ron and Severus said together.

"Wait, what? Last night?" Hermione said in puzzlement.

"Ron went to see Severus last night," Harry explained.

"No! I just went to talk to him!" Ron said.

"And talk you did," Severus hissed at Ron. "It was all your fault you know, if you hadn't…"

"Hey I didn't do anything!" Ron said. "You're the one who..!"

"Wait, Ron went to talk to Severus?" Hermione said. "Why wasn't I told about this?"

"Well why else do you think Severus sat with us? Ron decided that if we could all get along it would just be that much easier for you,"

"Well, but you're the one who kept saying all those things, about my eyes and my mouth and everything," Severus was saying to Ron.

"You're the one who kissed me!" Ron snapped, his face flushed.

Suddenly, everyone went dead silent. Hermione and Harry looked too stunned for words. Severus was looking at Ron with a look that was something of a mixture of hurt and anger. He felt his ears burning again. He was sure they were practically glowing.

He was aware of other people at the table who hadn't been involved in the conversation staring at him. They all seemed to have heard Ron's outburst, and were staring in shock.

"Wait, Severus, you…" Hermione started.

Severus gave an upset breath, pushing his chair away and storming out of the dining hall.

"Ron?" Hermione looked at the red haired boy, who was biting his lip. He looked at Harry and Hermione's confused but expectant faces.

"I'm gay." He said simply, before standing up and walking in the direction Severus had gone. They stared stupidly at where Ron and Severus had just been.

"Damn," Harry said. "I knew I should have gone with him."

****


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Thinking Too Much

Disclaim: Such a wonder that I think I'll sleep instead…… I heart Rufus ^_^. Anyays. Oh my god I love Queer Eye for the straight guy, it's one of the greatest shows, they're so funny I laugh so much! I love Carson and Jai an Kyan ahhhh the fab five are delicious. I seriously think in a past life I was a gay male as opposed to a straight female… oh yeah and I don't own Harry Potter either. That's all in the loving hands of JK Rowling and Warner Bros

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Fifteen: Thinking Too Much**

Ron came across Severus. The boy hadn't gotten all the way to his quarters; he had slumped down against the wall. He had his knees drawn up and his forehead was leaning against them.

"Um…" Ron began. He bit his lip.

"G'way," Severus's muffled voice said.

"Look, Severus…" Ron said. Severus looked up at him. He had a betrayed, hurt look on his face that he wasn't bothering to hide. 

"Why did you do that?" Severus asked.

"I just… I wasn't thinking, okay?" Ron said. "I didn't mean to,"

"You just completely outed me," Severus said. "Christ, Ron! People don't do that to each other! I never would have done that to you, even if I was really angry," 

"I know, look, I'm sorry…" Ron said helplessly.

"You know, everyone knows now," Severus looked worried. "As if I don't get harassed enough. But I guess that's just my life, right, to walk and be walked upon."

"Now, look, I told you I'm sorry and I didn't mean to do it," Ron said. "If it's helpful at all I outed myself before I left, too,"

"I thought you didn't even know if you were gay," Severus said, then.

"Well, in the whole night I had that I didn't sleep at all, I kind of figured out why kissing girls is always so unappealing to me," Ron said. "Christ, I mean, when you… well, I mean… it was totally different. Totally different than when I've kissed girls before. It was… well, good. Really, really good," he smiled.

Severus frowned, looking away slightly. He still looked upset. "I wasn't exactly ready for this. My whole world is spinning upside down right now,"

"Look, I really am, just, so sorry…" Ron said.

Severus looked at him for a moment, before apparently deciding that Ron was sincere. "Okay," he said. "I guess there's no use crying over spilt milk, right," he didn't seem to have convinced himself. Ron held his hand out to Severus, who grabbed it and pulled himself up. His hand tingled pleasantly from where Ron had touched it. He frowned.

Ron looked about to say something, when Harry and Hermione trotted up the corridor. Severus was still scowling, his hands thrust into his robes pockets.

"Hey…" Hermione said. She looked at Ron, who was blushing slightly, he looked almost scared. Severus gave her a defiant look, his jaw jutting just a bit.

"Look, you guys. I don't really know what's going on between you two," Hermione said. Ron opened his mouth.

"Nothing's going on. It was a one-time thing. I got carried away. Heat of the moment, or something like it. It won't happen again." Severus said. Ron looked slightly hurt. He stared at Severus for a moment, but Severus's face stayed fixed and blank. Ron looked away.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"What?" Severus said.

"Last night." Harry clarified.

"That's really none of your business," Severus said, his ears burning red.

"Well," Ron said. "We were talking, and-"

"Weasley!" Severus snapped. 

"My name is Ron." Ron said. "And I'm going to tell him later anyways, even if I can't tell him now. Besides, it's my story too, and _since_ there's nothing going on with us we might as well fill them in,"

Severus looked appalled at the idea. "But it's embarrassing," he said softly.

"I think I've reached the maximum amount of embarrassment possible for me," Ron said. "So I don't really mind much." He shrugged.

Ron began to tell the story, starting from when he had talked to Severus. He finally got to the part where Severus had said "One way to find out," Severus blushed red.

"I told you it was embarrassing," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose and turning away.

"Shut up, Severus, it's cute," Hermione smiled in spite of herself. "Romantic, really,"

Severus gave an exasperated breath. "I can't help it. It's the red hair," he scowled, folding his arms.

"Like red hair?" Harry said.

"It's the most attractive hair color. It's so unique, too," he explained. "Having red hair is one of the best attributes physically that a person can have. If not the best," he shook his head. "But it's still embarrassing," he frowned.

Ron had blushed at the comment about his hair, and ran his fingers self-consciously through it. Severus watched it for a moment, before he said, "Stop doing that," and looking away. "Just because I don't want to be in a relationship with you doesn't mean I'm not attracted to you. You're making this all the more difficult for me."

"Well, you know what, you've made my entire potions career difficult, so you'll just have to deal." Ron said sardonically. 

"Hmph," Severus grumbled.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance. They could tell that the mutual attraction between the boys was quite strong. It was hard to tell whether the two would inevitably end up together, or if they would continue to keep themselves apart in spite of a mutual desire between them.

****

Months passed. Before they knew it, it was summer break. Severus seemed particularly glum.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked him. He frowned. "I was supposed to go to Hawaii this summer for vacation. But now I can't, because I'm so _young_. It isn't _safe_ for young children like me to travel overseas alone. According to Albus." He said.

"That bites," Hermione said. "Where will you go instead?"

Severus shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I could go to my home in Italy, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my brother Max has moved his family in there for the summer. I hardly ever go there, usually I spend the summers here at Hogwarts." He shrugged. "I just don't see the purpose in living in a home for only a month," he said. "The professors usually stay another month to wrap everything up, with grading and cleaning and whatnot, and then they usually end up coming back a month early to deal with lesson plans and inventory and the likes of that." 

"I see," Hermione said. "Well, you could always stay with our family."

"Your parents wouldn't allow it. Not to mention that I'm supposed to be a professor. Then they _really_ wouldn't allow it." He scowled.

"That's true. You're probably right, actually," Hermione frowned. Her parents were rather conservative.

"I guess I'll talk to Albus. I'm sure he'll help me think of something. Chances are he'll let me stay here. Although strictly speaking, _students_ aren't allowed." He scowled at the word.

"Well, let me know," she said. She waved goodbye to him as she went to Potions. They'd given up on making him go to that particular class. He was just getting on so badly with Lila, and he knew more about potions than her, anyway.

He sighed as he wandered towards the library. It was kind of nice to have a free period, but it would have been better if Hermione had one too, and he'd then have someone to talk to.

_Maybe next year she won't take potions_, he thought. He stopped. "First of all," he said to himself. "She doesn't do that dropping classes thing. Second of all, you will be teaching it next year, remember, they'll find a cure, so it's folly to even think about a _class_ schedule next year." He was very firm in making sure he didn't sink back into a student-like outlook.

He shook his head, retreating to the library.

****

Ron and Harry followed Hermione to dinner. They met with Severus in the Great Hall, sinking into their now-normal seats. Hermione across from Severus, Ron across from Harry. Severus had told Hermione that any other seating arrangement with him next to or across from Ron Weasley would be awkward and unacceptable, so she'd talked to Harry, who'd told Ron, and it had all worked out in the end.

They ate quietly for a while, Severus picking at his food. They looked up as Albus ambled over.

"Severus!" He said, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Severus looked at him suspiciously.

"I don't like that look, Albus," he said. "What are you planning to pull on me?"

"Why whatever do you mean?" Dumbledore asked innocently. "I just came over to tell you I've found a solution to your summer holiday problem," he beamed.

_Uh oh_, Severus frowned. "What? I thought we agreed I would stay here," he said suspiciously. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were listening avidly now. 

"I found an even better, more practical, and less conspicuous solution!" Dumbledore held his index finger up. Harry could picture him as a cartoon character, with a light bulb appearing over his head.

"I don't like where you're leading me, Albus," Severus said in a slightly warning tone.

"I've found someone who can take you in over the summer!" he said brightly.

"Who?" Severus's sense of dread was overcoming.

"Well, I had a really long conversation with Molly, and I mentioned your predicament, and she had the grand idea that since her older sons had left, you could stay with them,"

Ron looked stunned, and Severus looked disbelieving.

"Molly..?" He said. "Molly… not Molly Wea..?"

"Yes! You know her, Molly Weasley," Dumbledore grinned.

"What?!" Severus said, his eyes widening. "But! You can't!"

"Well, then. Tootles!" Dumbledore waved his fingers at Severus, who stood up.

"Albus! Y- no, you can't-!" he said, but Dumbledore was gone. 

Severus slumped back into his seat, looking frustrated.

"That damnable sneak," he growled. Ron still looked stunned. "You know, I'm sure he knows all about… that…" he trailed off, but they knew the even he was speaking of. When Ron had gone to apologize, so long ago. They had sort of come to a silent agreement not to mention it. Severus had kind of become part of the group, but he wasn't really friends with Ron and Harry, nor were they friends with him. They simply tolerated each other for Hermione's sake.

"You're staying at my house?!" Ron suddenly said. There had been a long silence preceding his outburst, and as such, they were all startled by it.

"I guess so. I don't particularly seem to have a choice in the matter." Severus said. "For some reason, my life has always been under the ultimate control of a very powerful God named Albus Dumbledore," he grumbled.

"But… you… he… Mum…" Ron stammered.

"Oh, I guess you're just supposed to get over it. There's nothing to be done about it now." Severus said. "It will be like old times. Only they have you now." He waved his hand dismissively. 

"What do you mean?"

Severus blinked at the three who were looking at him in question. "Yeah, I stayed with your parents once before. When William was a newborn." He said.

"Why?" Ron shook his head.

"Well, they were friends of Albus. They had to um," he shrugged. "They took me away from my parents," his face was carefully blank.

"Why?" Ron asked, looking puzzled. 

"My mum, you know, and my father, erm. He wasn't very nice to me." Severus shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyways. They were the only family Albus could find at the time. I stayed with them for like three or four years." He said. "Not really a big thing, though. They were very nice to me, but I guess I wasn't very trusting. I kept writing to them for a few years after I left, but it kind of stopped when I turned twenty or twenty-one." He said. "Right around when you were born, actually," he said. He grimaced. "Christ, now I feel old,"

"You don't look old," Hermione pointed out. He gave her a grimace. "Yes, very nice, Hermione," he said. "Just poke me with a stick, why don't you,"

Ron still looked confused. "But, I don't understand," he said. "What did your parents do?"

Harry and Hermione looked suddenly dark face. It seemed quite obvious to them, but child abuse didn't seem to be acknowledged in the wizarding world the way muggles acknowledged it.

"Well, let's see, Ron," Severus said. "What did you do with your dad when you were growing up? Like father-son activities?"

Ron looked confused, but he answered with, "Well, I don't know. We went fishing a few times, I guess. Sometimes we looked at muggle stuff, or tried to get muggle things working, like the yellophone," 

"Telephone," Hermione corrected him. He shrugged.

"You know, the normal stuff. Building birdhouses and whatnot," Ron smiled with the memory.

"Yeah?" Severus said. "What kind of things did you do with your mother?" he asked.

"Well, I used to help her with the garden," he said. "And we de-gnomed it a few times. Sometimes she would show me how to cook things. And she would take me to museums and art galleries. And a few times she took me to work with her. She used to be a chef, you know," he said. "Why?" he asked.

"Well, when _I_ was growing up, my father-son activities were, getting ignored, getting yelled at, and getting beaten up. In that order. My mother-son activities were being ignored, being yelled at for getting yelled at by my father, and getting beaten up, in that order." He said. "Apparently it's not supposed to work that way." He said. "So they took me away from my parents. My other brothers were never treated that way, so they got to stay."

Hermione and Harry frowned, and Ron looked shocked. "But why?" he finally said. Severus sighed.

"You know, I've asked myself that a million times over, and I still don't know," he said. "I guess I was just a really bad kid, and they knew from the start. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I suppose." He shrugged.

"That's awful," Ron looked upset.

"That's what all the adults kept saying. But saying that doesn't really make a difference, except to irritate me, so please don't mind as I digress, please talk about something else." He said. He rubbed at the scar over his eye absently. He hadn't really noticed it for a while, but it was still there. Harry, Hermione, and Ron noticed this behavior, and turned back to their food. Harry sat for a moment awkwardly before beginning a conversation about Quidditch, to distract them from the uncomfortable issue.

Severus wasn't listening, though. He didn't like Quidditch anymore. He'd really only joined the team because of peer pressure, and he hadn't been very good, even then. It had been fun when he was playing, to hit the bludgers at people, particularly the Gryffindors. He hadn't, however, liked the pranks pulled on him by the rest of the Slytherin team or the constant teasing that questioned his sexuality. He couldn't count the number of times they had beaten him up for being 'bent', 'queer'. He frowned, his finger trailing over the scar a bit more. It had faded somewhat, he supposed. It wasn't really noticeable, but he supposed he always noticed things more than others. 

He finally decided to push the unhappy thoughts from his mind. Things were different now. He had a friend, and somewhere to stay over the summer that shouldn't be terribly awful. Though it might cause some awkwardness staying in the same house or, god forbid, bedroom as Ron. 

_I think too much_, he thought, and firmly pushed all the thoughts out of his head, turning to observe the vehement conversation between the redheaded boy and the boy-who-lived. 

****

* * *


	16. Chapter Sixteen: An Impure Vessel

Disclaimer: Oh, for god's sake, just shut up! Why must I disclaim? It's not like you had any mislead idea that I was JK Rowling anyways. Pete oh pete!

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Sixteen: An Impure Vessel**

Severus loaded his trunk onto the train glumly. Ron didn't seem any more excited about it that he, although he did keep shooting him curious glances. Severus frowned to himself. He hoped the boy wasn't expecting anything romantic to happen over the summer.

He slumped into the box with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He was adorned in a black robe again. If they'd noticed the change in his appearance from the punk look he'd had at the beginning, they hadn't said anything about it. He leaned his head against the window. He frowned as the train lurched, the entire world seemingly insistent on sending him to his imminent doom. 

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked him.

"Blah," he responded. "My day seems gray and far away," 

She looked puzzled. "What?" she said.

He smirked slightly. "Sorry," he said. "It's the inner poet," he said.

She lifted an eyebrow. "Going to stay with Ron can't be that bad," she said. Ron looked from her, to Harry, to Severus.

"Maybe so," he said. "I'd rather be in a summerhouse in Hawaii, though," he scowled slightly. "Damned Albus."

"Can't cry over spilt milk, now can we?" Ron said, recalling what Severus had said once before. Severus lifted an eyebrow.

"Actually, I believe I said, 'I guess there's no use crying over spilt milk,'" Severus said. "Just for the record."

"You're like Hermione," Ron said, shaking his head. "You remember the exact words,"

Severus shrugged. "Only when I'm paying attention. It's like my memory is photographic, but selective. It's only so clear if I am really paying attention to something. Like I couldn't tell you a single exact phrase from Binns. Ever," he shrugged. "But I can tell you what Minerva McGonagall said to our class, first day of my first year. I could quote the entire speech."

"Hermione was quoting Dumbledore's speech from last year," Ron shook his head. "I can't do that."

"Well, everyone remembers things differently," Severus shrugged. "You seem to remember the Quidditch cup with disturbing clarity. It all depends on your interests."

"Yeah, you're right, I guess," Ron said.

"So, anyways…" Harry murmured after awhile.

They rode most of the way in a silence, though it wasn't _too_ awkward or uncomfortable. Every once in awhile they'd exchange in conversation, but it never lasted long. The tension of Severus going to Ron's house seemed to have leeched into the air somehow.

It was with some relief that the train began to slow as they approached the station. The students stood up and began removing their robes, as they would be forced to go through the muggle train station to get home.

Severus was wearing a turtleneck sweater of a green so dark it was nearly black, and a pair of dark blue denim jeans. He didn't notice that Ron's eyes traveled over his form briefly as he plunged his long hands into his pockets and brushed his hair with his fingers briefly.

Ron looked at Severus's hair. It was so dark, though he remembered it being incredibly soft. It certainly wasn't the most attractive looking hair. The color was very nice, it was a beautiful raven-black. But it hung kind of limp and lank, and it seemed to have no shine whatsoever, it had the dull look that greasy hair had. He knew from experience, that greasy hair didn't look shinier, but dull and lifeless. It happened to his hair if he skipped washing it. But from touching it, Ron knew it wasn't greasy.

"Why are you staring at me?" 

Ron jerked to attention. "Huh?" he said.

Severus looked a bit suspicious. "You were staring at my head."

"I was just looking at your hair," Ron said.

"Why? Is it mussed up?" Severus ran his hand over his hair a bit self-consciously.

Ron shook his head. "No, it's fine. I was just wondering why it feels so differently than it looks." He said.

Severus gave him a peculiar look and he blushed slightly. "Never mind," he said. The doors opened, and they descended the small stairs to meet with Arthur and Molly Weasley.

****

"Jesus," Arthur said, upon seeing him. He reached out, touching a stray lock of hair on Severus's head. "This really is unbelievable, Severus. You're just as I remember you," he shook his head in disbelief. Severus had an irritated look on his face.

"Yes, well," he frowned. Hermione was concerned at how miserable he looked. 

"Come on, Potter," a gruff voice nearby said. Harry grimaced, and they looked over to see who had spoken. Severus stared into the face of a large, pink, pig-like man. He seemed to be balding slightly, his blond hair in a blatant comb-over on his round head.

"Hold on a moment," Harry said. He turned back to them, to say his goodbyes.

"Hurry up!" his uncle snarled viciously before Harry had even opened his mouth to say goodbye.

"Give him a minute," Severus said to Vernon, surprising them all. "He hasn't even had a chance to say goodbye yet! You can wait thirty seconds, can't you? Or is that too difficult for you?"

Vernon's eyes bugged, with rage beyond words. "How dare you speak to me that way!" He roared.

"Oh, get over it," Severus growled, narrowing his eyes. "I'm having a bad day and you're just making it worse. Besides, your life isn't the center of the universe, so just shut it."

Vernon opened and closed his mouth wordlessly for a moment, as Ron stared stupidly and Hermione hid a giggle behind her hand.

After a few minutes, Harry turned and walked away. Vernon stood for a moment, giving Severus a death glare, which he simply returned, before stomping off after his nephew.

George, Fred, and Ginny had appeared, and were staring at Snape. They seemed apprehensive at having to share their home with him for three months. He looked at them, a sour expression on his face, before huffing slightly and turning away.

"Well, come on then, kids," Molly said, getting a slight glare from Severus. "Let's go out to the car."

They followed her, though Severus stayed slightly behind the pack, dragging his trunk, his free hand thrust moodily into his pocket.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked.

"Don't talk to me." Severus said simply, not looking up from where his eyes were trained on the ground. Ron looked a bit put-off.

"You're really abnormal," Ron finally said, glaring at Severus, before pulling ahead to join his red-haired brethren. 

****

Upon arrival at the Burrow, The Weasley Children all filed out of the car and scattered, leaving Severus with Arthur and Molly. Rain began to fall lightly, sprinkling the three of them. It wet Severus's hair, giving him a sullen look. He wrung his hands slightly behind his back, looking away under the analytical eyes of the Weasley parents.

"Well then," Arthur clapped Severus on the shoulder. "I suppose we should go in before the rain starts coming down hard." 

Severus was glad that there was no mention of his current state. They walked into the house, and it felt almost like old times, when Molly and Arthur had been the only affection that he had felt in his short lifetime. He remembered back to when he had lived there, with only the small, fiery-headed baby and Molly and Arthur immediately adopting him as their second son. 

They went to the kitchen, slipping into the kitchen chairs. They sat for a few moments, his feet finding the familiar rung on the chair and tucking themselves behind it. He worried his fingers for a few moments, before Molly spoke.

"We're going to put you in Charlie's old room," she said. "We figured since he's the only son who is hardly ever here, it would be easiest for you. There's likely to be a time that he will visit, of course, but we'll just put you in Bill or Percy's room when that happens. We know how you like your privacy," 

"Mm." Severus responded. He felt awkward and unhappy. He frowned, letting his head fall, his forehead thumping against the cool wood of the table. "How can this be happening to me? As if my life isn't already stressful enough," he murmured to the floor. "I am going to have a nervous breakdown if they don't fix me soon,"

"Oh, you are not," Arthur said. "Look, we know you're, well, an adult, so to speak. You can still talk to us, you know. We were so sad when you stopped keeping in contact with us, but we knew you needed to move on from your past. But it seems that God wants to give you another chance at your life," 

"God," Severus looked up, glaring at Arthur, a familiar angry fire in his eyes. "God?! There is no such thing as _God_, thank you very much. If there were a God then millions of people wouldn't be starving and dying of disease, there wouldn't be any global warming, there wouldn't be any AIDS, and there _wouldn't_ be people being turned back into children at the whim of a fucking _potion_," he snarled.

"Severus, if you would only pray to him, or ask for his guidance you might see that he really does care about you," Arthur reached out to the boy.

"Look," Severus snapped. "I didn't take your Christian shit when I was here the first time, and I won't take it now," he said. "So don't even try to convert me. If you do it again, I'll… I'll…" he stuttered. What _would_ he do? As a youngster he had threatened to hex them, although they hadn't pressed him about religion often. He cared about them, now, and he knew that a threat of that sort with his past records was something that would make them nervous around him.

"Then I'll kill myself," he said, narrowing his eyes. He knew the threat was outrageous and a complete overreaction. He knew he was overreacting to everything, but he felt hypersensitive, and now that he had thrown himself into it, there was no way to back out. At least not gracefully.

"Severus!" Molly said, her russet eyebrows lifting high in surprise.

"Oh, just stop," he said, slumping back into his chair. He hadn't realized he'd stood up. "You know I'm not going to do that,"

"Yes, well," Arthur shook his head. "We won't talk about this anymore, then. I'll help you take your trunk to your room," 

"I'll do it myself," Severus said, grabbing his trunk and heading up the stairs. Upon reaching the upper hallway, he found himself suddenly flanked on either side by identical faces framed by curly mops of red hair.

"So, Snape," the one on his left, Fred, said.

"What do you want?" Severus snapped.

"Woah, hostile," George said.

"That's right, I'm a hostile, sarcastic, greasy-haired, hook-nosed, poison-tongued bastard," Severus said, stopping and staring at them. They looked surprised. "So why don't you just stay out of my way and don't bother me. Don't bother me, don't talk to me, don't look at me, and don't think about me. Then, maybe this situation could be tolerable for everyone,"

They frowned. "If you think we're just not going to talk to you the whole time we're gracious enough to let you stay in _our_ house, in _our_ brother's room, you've got another thing coming! You have to entertain us whenever we want, without that snarky attitude, thank you very much," Fred said.

"Oh, you think so, do you?" Severus said, grinning maliciously. "How shall I entertain you? I hear bloodletting's all the rage these days," he sneered.

"Erm, well, no thanks," Fred said whitely.

"Yeah. Never mind us, we'll just be on our way,"

They, like the other students at Hogwarts, had seen the way Severus had injured a few of the students. They weren't eager to be on the list of Snape attacks.

That night at dinner, Severus sat grimly in his chair, his chin in his palm, staring blankly into space while the Weasley's ate, every now and again shooting guarded glances at him.

"So, Severus," Molly said. He snapped to attention. "What do you think of the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" she was fishing for something to make him interact. She had done it many a time before, but she knew she was a bit rusty. She'd have to learn how to talk with the boy again.

"I feel bad for all of the people that are going to die in it," he said. She looked at him.

"The Deatheaters?" she said.

"Well, yes, them too." He told her.

"But they're evil!" Ron said. 

"They deserve to die!" Fred followed.

Severus blinked at them. "Well, they may have committed some atrocious acts," he said. "But it's not really that it's their bidding that's done it. The Dark Lord has utmost control over them."

"Everyone has free will!" George said. "They have perfectly enough free will to defect,"

"But they don't, that's just it." Severus said. "To quote, 'Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country,' Or in this case, any organization. The Dark Lord has brainwashed his followers into believing that Muggles and Mudbloods are the source of all problems and well cause the eventual destruction of the entire wizarding world. He's the Modern-Day Hitler,"

"Who were you quoting just then?" Arthur asked.

"Hermann Goering, a major Nazi leader. He said it in an interview with Gustave Gilbert during a recess of the Nuremberg trials." Severus told them.

"So it was Nazi filth that said it, you're going to use that to get sympathy for deatheaters?" George said.

"It doesn't matter that he was a nazi, because he was absolutely true," Severus told them. "Either way, I'm not recruiting sympathy for them. But I feel bad that they're going to die before they have a chance to realize that they're wrong. It's no success to simply rid the world of them. The true success would be to make them see that they'd erred." Severus shrugged. "But everyone's entitled to their own opinion, I suppose."

There was an awkward silence, before he abruptly stood and walked out of the room.

"This is going to be too weird," Fred said softly. 

"I don't like him staying with us," George said to his parents.

"He threatened us in the hallway," Fred added.

"Please," Molly said. "Just give him awhile. He needs to adjust. Once you get to know him a little, you'll see that he's just very troubled. He's had a much rougher life than you can even imagine. He's very sensitive and he guards himself from the world. Right now he's confused and scared, and he's a bit overly sensitive, even for himself. Just give him some space,"

Ginny, who'd been quiet for most of the dinner, looked up suddenly. "How'd he get that scar?" she asked quietly.

Arthur looked at her for a moment. "He was cut with a broken bottle," he said. "He was very near to losing the eye, but he managed to keep the glass far enough away that it only cut his face."

"A broken bottle?" Ron said. "Did he get in a fight with someone?"

"Not really," Molly said, clearing her throat. She looked at the curious, prying eyes of her children. She finally sighed. "His father was an alcoholic," she said softly.

"Oh," Ginny said, blinking. She frowned. "His dad did that to him?"

"His father did much worse than that to him," Arthur said. "Usually followed by a bit of rough handling from his mother. Because he angered his father, he told us. Although he usually spoke with a sort of desperate affection for his mother, whom he at least had fond memories of."

"But why did his father put glass in his eye?" Ginny asked.

"The most we could ever get from Severus was that his father had little patience for 'his sort'." Molly said. The children stared. 

Ginny stood up and left, then, and it seemed like a chain reaction that everyone else then also stood and left.

****

Severus sat in the dark family room. There was no one else in it, and he had taken the liberties to kill the lights so as to have near-total darkness. The drapes closed, with only a hint of light creeping from beneath it, and the kitchen lights off as well, the room was a quite comforting shade of gray. The loud ache in his head was very persistent.

He heard the footsteps long before they arrived. A herd of people heading towards his choice spot of meditation. He heard sneakers shriek softly on the linoleum of the kitchen floor, before the feet padded into the room. He could see the dark shapes move to the switch on the wall. 

As the lights sprang to life, he lost the vision he'd previously had. 

"Ah!" he heard a male voice yelp. He blinked the spots away as his pupils contracted and he adjusted to the light.

"What are you doing?" Fred's distinct voice said.

"I'm sitting." Severus said, his vision mostly restored. Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny were standing in the doorway. Ginny had what appeared to be a board game under one arm.

"In the dark?" George said. He was clutching his shirt with one hand, looking startled. Severus guessed it had been he who'd yelped.

"Sitting in the dark," Severus said. 

"Why?" Ron asked bluntly.

"Because I have a migraine and the light was paining me." He said. "I wouldn't mind if you talked a bit softer,"

"I didn't know you get migraines." Fred said.

"Why would you?"

"Um… well, I guess you've got me there,"

Severus stood up. The motion was almost too much for him, a nauseating wave of dizziness overcame him. He grabbed the arm of the chair to steady himself. His vision clouded over.

"Woah," his voice seemed far away as the throbbing in his head intensified. "That's never happened before," he heard himself say.

"What hasn't?" Ginny's voice trickled through the ache in his head.

"I can't see," he choked out. He was dimly aware of his hands clutching at his head. He was doubling over.

"Holy crap," George said. "Mum! Dad!" he heard the other boy roar. He moaned in pain. The carpet pressed into his forehead, although he hadn't been aware that his head had touched the floor. He felt the ground vibrating gently as Molly and Arthur appeared, having heard the panic in their son's voice.

"Severus!" they cried in unison.

"…don't…" was all he could manage.

Suddenly, there was a blinding white flash over his eyes, and he was aware of nothing more.

Arthur saw the boy's face relax, his arms dropping, and he stepped over to pick the unconscious boy up. However, suddenly and surprisingly, the limp form of the boy rose nearly six feet in the air.

"Holy crap!" George repeated.

Severus's legs and arms dangled lifelessly in the air, before his body rotated so he was levitating on his back. His head dropped back, his eyes still closed, his mouth open just a hair. His mop of black hair was hanging down, giving them a perfect view of his face, as his head was towards them. His body slowly evened out, so his spine was straight, though his limbs and head still dangled, pulled down by gravity, though his torso was not. There was a flash of light, and a neon blue orb surrounded the floating boy, masking him from sight, completely encompassing him. It snapped and flickered as though electricity.

"What in the hell..?" Arthur murmured, his eyes wide.

"What's wrong with him?" Ginny cried, looking bewildered. Nobody answered.

There was a loud crack and the blue orb vanished. They could see Severus again, now, surrounded by a shifting black orb. The black orb was not solid; in fact it seemed to fade clear on the front so that they could see Severus.

He seemed to be devoid of all clothing, now, save for a long white sheet curling around his body almost like a toga, covering his personal areas and yet never actually touching his flesh. His left arm extended forward, the hand hanging limply, the dark mark gleaming angrily against his pale skin. His eyes were still closed.

Suddenly, a green lettering appeared on the face of the orb, but it was written in a foreign script that none of them could decipher.

"Holy cow," Ron said. Thinking quickly, he grabbed a small video camera his father had been tinkering with. He managed to turn it on (though how, he didn't know) and was slightly relieved when he heard a small whirring of the tape recording. He pointed it at the orb, hoping to capture the message, so they might decipher it if they needed to. (He had a feeling they would need to.)

The foreign script stopped, and below it, in glowing white, it began to write in English.

"I fear it's a long way down, and I fear I won't be around, and why don't you believe me when I'm screaming? Keep me locked up and you will end up burned by love or sickness. You cause a stir in my sad, sad and lonely heart." Arthur read. There was a smear of words as they all ran together and dissipated. Then, in strong bold letters, more words appeared.

"This spirit contained and preserved within must be set free so it may complete its requirements. The vessel was given thirty-five years to locate the necessary partner vessel and has failed to do so. As such, both vessels have been altered so to complete the task. Suggesting immediate action towards locating the partner, or the continued existence of this fair and delicate world is questionable. Once the vessels are united in body and soul, in flesh and spirit both, only then may the ancient songs ring again to complete the universal harmony." It said. This was quickly erased again, and more was written, in a yellow, looping text.

"Bodily impurity has caused a great deal of trauma and all in all has been a key factor in the failing of the vessel. This is the first vessel in all of time that has failed the task, and the universal mind has attributed the failure to one key impurity that caused a wrinkle in the plan for the vessel. All bodily defections will be alleviated."

The black orb flashed to a brilliant red color, and the scars on Severus' body glowed blood red. In addition, so glowed the dark mark. There was a lurch of his body, and his face took on an expression of intense pain, his chest heaving with breath. Then, it seemed as though all of the scars and marks were melting. The red color ran down his arms and legs to drip into a pool at the bottom of the orb. Where they had been, where the mark had been, was now gleaming pale, fresh skin. 

The Weasley family were watching in a sort of morbid fascination. Severus's face had relaxed, and a single line of text appeared.

"Open your eyes,"

Severus's eyes sprang open, and for a moment they looked like the eyes of a dead person, blank and unseeing, before the orb flashed the electric blue for one moment, then vanished. There was a thump as the dark-haired boy crumpled to the floor, fully clothed.

The Weasley's stood for a moment in shock, staring at the still body of Severus on the floor. They seemed to be frozen, unsure of what to do, of what had just happened. Only when Severus shifted slightly, letting out a small groan, did Molly rush forward. She scooped the boy up into her arms as though he were weightless and lifted him away to his bedroom.

****

**A/N: Sorry it took awhile to update again, I know for awhile there I was just churning them out out outtttt, but I was on a nine-day environmental conservation learning-type trip to Belize, so I had no access to the computer. However, I was plotting this chapter and those far ahead of it during my free time, so I began as soon as I got home yesterday J. Thank you all for REVIEWING! (hint hint)**

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	17. Chapter Seventeen: Recover And Recollect

Disclaimer: I'm Rebelling! No disclaimer for this chapter! Ahahahaha! If you want a disclaimer go to chapter one. That one's extensive : )        

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Seventeen: Recover and Recollect**

He slept for two days before he finally woke up. He was blinking lazily at the ceiling that day when Ron was passing by. Ron noticed the movement, and stopped stark still in the hallway.

"He's awake!" He whispered to himself, before cautiously walking into the room. He walked up next to the bed, and the foggy black eyes directed themselves at him. Ron's eyebrows furrowed. Something wasn't right here. Severus was awake, certainly, but there was something _wrong_ about it.

"Severus?" he said. A choked noise came from Severus's throat.

"Are you okay? Say something, please…" Ron looked very worried. Severus's entire body seemed to be trembling. 

"K-Keh…" Severus didn't seem to be able to form words. He clenched his eyes closed and turned his face away from Ron. Ron, frightened, went to tell his mother what had happened.

****

Severus was slowly but surely recovering. He was incredibly weak, but after two days of wakefulness, he was at least present in mind and able to speak again. Ron visited him often, a strange compelling feeling that he should be watching over the weakened boy. 

"Hullo," Ron said, walking into the room.

"Mm," Severus murmured.

"How're you feeling?" Ron asked, sitting down in a chair that he'd set next to the bed.

"Like shit," Severus said. "I can't even barely move," he scowled. "I feel like all the energy's been sucked out of my body,"

"You look like it, too," Ron said.

"Oh, thanks," Severus glanced at Ron sardonically. Ron grinned.

"It's okay, you'll get better," Ron said. He reached out and brushed Severus's hand with his fingers. He took Severus's hand from the bed, cradling it and examining Severus's fingers self-consciously. He was embarrassed that he was having such tender and sympathetic feelings for his former professor. He brushed his own fingers in feather-soft touches on Severus's. Severus watched with an analytical eye.

"That tickles," he murmured slightly. Ron smiled faintly, but ceased the soft caresses. "How does it feel to have your Dark Mark gone, then?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" Severus said, looking slightly startled.

"Haven't you noticed yet?" Ron looked into the other boy's face. "All of your scars, all of them, and your dark mark, they're all gone. It all happened in that big weird thing, that big floating ball of light you were in after you passed out. And it kept saying things about you being an impure vessel and that you had a task you were supposed to have done by the time you were thirty-five but because of the dark mark, or maybe because you got caught up with the Deatheaters, either way, it caused a chain of events that prevented you from completing the task. Then it said something about the vessel being altered so better to complete the task… you're supposed to locate another vessel and unite in body and spirit or something like that," Ron said. "Didn't you know? Don't you remember?"

"I don't remember anything except for having that migraine and then there was a flash of white… then I woke up and I couldn't move or talk…" Severus said. "You can't be serious?" he looked on the edge of hysteria. "My mark! It's gone?!" he hissed. He jerked his arm away from Ron and snatched the sleeve of the pajamas he was wearing up to his elbow. His fingers trembled as he viewed the pale, flawless skin. Free of the Dark Mark, free of the tattered mess of scarred flesh around it… free of it all. He ran a hand along his arm, a ridiculous giggle emerging from his throat. He slumped back against his pillow, his head back. He let his now pure arm drop over his forehead, cradling his head as he laughed.

"I can't believe it!" he said at long last. Ron had been startled and unnerved by the loud laughter. "Oh, I'm so happy I could cry," Severus sighed. "But how..? There's nothing can remove the Dark Mark… it's just… it's a miracle… it's impossible…" 

Ron smiled, as Severus let his arm fall to his lap where he continued to look at it in wonder. Ron brushed a dark lock of hair from Severus's face. Severus looked at the red haired boy.

There was a moment of silence, before Ron stood and kissed Severus on the forehead, before turning and leaving the room.

****

Ron was startled to see his mother in the hallway as he was leaving the room. Had she seen? Did she know? Questions raced through him, his heart pounding and lurching in his chest. She smiled at him as he passed, and he managed to slip past her without questioning. His relief was blatant on his face as he escaped, and she felt a twinge of sadness as she walked into Severus's room.

"Well," she said upon entering. Severus jumped slightly. His mind had obviously been elsewhere. He looked at her. "Ron is obviously quite smitten with you," she said.

Severus's eyes widened very slightly, and he opened his mouth to protest, but no words would come. "You… but… what?" he managed to say.

"Oh, don't be daft," Molly said. "I've known since he was a year old that he was, well," she shrugged. "Gay." She said bluntly. "I knew it even before he knew it. And he tries so hard, but there are some things that a mother just knows." She smiled. "I was prepared, already, because of you, actually. You helped me prepare. I think, deep down, Arthur knows, as well. He's probably just repressing it. I won't press Ron to be open with us, though. He'll do it when he feels he's ready." She smiled slightly. "Just tell me," she said. "Do you like him? Might I do a bit of matchmaking?" she lifted her eyebrow.

"Oh, please, Molly," Severus sighed. "Don't, don't, don't. He's a nice enough boy, I suppose, and he's quite attractive for a _child_, but keep in mind, I am thirty-five years old. And one of these days I'll have the potion's antidote, and then where will we be? I think it's an abysmal idea to do…" he sneered. "_Matchmaking_,"

She smiled. "I suppose you're right," she sighed. 

He smirked slightly, and lay quietly for a few moments as she fussed about the room, adjusting his covers and pillows, and looking distractedly at the things he had left on the dresser before he had had his episode.

"Is something the matter?" he asked softly.

"We were contacted today," Molly said. "By one of your brothers…"

"Why?" he asked, his face pale. "Which?"

"He said his name was Tonnie,"

"Antonius," Severus frowned. "Why did he contact you?"

"Well," Molly said. "It seems that your father was killed in a rather violent automobile accident,"

"Oh," Severus said blankly. "I'm surprised they thought to tell me,"

"Well, your father seems to have left everything to you. Everything. The house, the furniture, the money, the belongings. Everything." She said.

"Left it to me? What about my mother?" he said.

"Your brother said that she went missing a few years back. She's been pronounced legally deceased, although he told me that no one in the family has any doubts that really she ran from your father, returning to her native country..?" she seemed confused about the native country.

"She's from Columbia," he said. "I have a lot of relatives who live there. My father was studying there, and he met her. They eventually got married. Of course, he was longing to return home, and he promised her a better life, as they were in poverty while there. So he brought her back to England, and taught her to speak English and whatnot. All of my brothers and I were born here, but we've been to Columbia numerous times to visit grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts, you know. Family." He shrugged slightly. "It does make sense that she would leave him and go back there. My grandparents hit gold ten or fifteen years ago and have been living the high life ever sense. She was so afraid of my father, after he started drinking and getting violent. It's probably better for her to be with her family than with father."

"Anyways," Molly said. She worried the canvas strap of his camera bag slightly. "You've got to go claim it. If you don't claim it within six months, they'll auction it off." 

"But… I can't! Look at me, I'm… a child!" Severus protested.

"They've given you a great deal of time, since we told them you were having… er… medical problems." Molly told him. "You've got six whole months. Surely by then you'll have been turned back, right?" she asked. "I'm sure you will, Severus."

He scowled darkly. "Well, I suppose. Was Tonnie rude?" he changed the subject.

"Actually, he was quite polite, though he looked a little sullen. He told me to tell you that all of your brothers were still unsure of how to talk to you. None of them ever had the same treatment as you did, and they don't really… relate. He did express an interest in having a sort of family reunion of sorts eventually, and he displayed concern over your medical status."

"A family reunion?" Severus asked.

"He said he wanted to meet you. The others do, too. They all… well, they haven't seen you since you were eleven, after all. They're quite a bit older than you, aren't they?" Molly asked.

"Tonnie was the closest to Tullius and I," Severus said. "And he was eight, no, nine years older than us. Of course, now Tully's dead, so I suppose he won't be attending the reunion." He grimaced.

"How many brothers do you have, again? I mean there was you and Tully, the twin, right?" she asked.

"Right," Severus responded. "I have twelve brothers, now that Tully's dead." He said.

"Bigger family than even ours," Molly smirked. "You should tell Ron that you're the youngest of thirteen. Then maybe he won't feel like he can't live up to his mere _five_ brothers."

"Yes, well. My father was extremely religious and didn't believe in contraceptives, apparently. At least that's what my mother told me when I asked why our family was so huge," Severus said. "At the time I was five or six, so I didn't know what a contraceptive was. My mum said that it was something people use to keep their families small and manageable, and that bigger families were better because they were more natural, that God wanted people to have big families."

Molly smiled slightly. "Do you remember your brothers at all?"

Severus shrugged. "Not really. I remember Tully, of course. But Tonnie was already out of the house when I was only eight, and the others are all older than him. So I kind of remember them, but for the most part, Tully and I were the only two who were ever home." He answered. "I remember that the second and third oldest in our family were twins as well. Cyprian and Demetr. They're fraternal too. I guess that's a hereditary thing or something."

"What kind of professions do they have?" 

Severus shrugged. "I believe many of them work in law enforcement for the ministry. Cy and Demetr are Dragon Keepers together. Not sure what else," he said. 

"Well. I think that as soon as you're yourself again you should write to Tonnie and arrange some time to have the reunion." Molly smiled brightly at him.

"Well. They do have the best wizards at St. Mungo's working on the potion's antidote… so… it should be soon, right?"

"I'm sure it will be." Molly smiled, and patted Severus on the head, before finally leaving the room. Severus slumped back against his pillow, thinking. The day had been a big one of revelations.

****

Within the next few days, Severus was able to get up and walk around again. He seemed to recover all at once, suddenly brimming with more energy than he'd felt in a long time. He was also feeling quite euphoric, strangely enough. He didn't stop to think of how peculiar it was that he was feeling so happy all of a sudden, when he'd been plagued with sorrow for nearly all his life.

He'd turned to a pastime that he hadn't laid hands on since he'd become a teacher, which was songwriting. He remembered to before he'd defected from Voldemort, and had been quite enthralled with music and dance, art and photography. Though a follower of the dark lord, he'd been very soulful and spent a lot of time absorbed in the beauty of self-expression and creativity. He had been quite a piano prodigy as a child and had used that to help him write songs and play music. It had given him a strange sense of wholeness at the time, and now he took up writing songs again. This time, though, they were much more uplifting and happy. So far, they were only written and sung in his head. He hadn't taken the time to play them on the piano yet, for fear of mockery.

However, as he was sitting in the living room alone one day, looking at the piano with a gnawing hunger, he was still painfully aware of the family in the house, up and about all doing their separate things.

It was only when Molly was walking by, and halted, seeing him looking speculatively at the piano, his hands in his pockets. "Are you going to play?" she asked, grinning widely. "You used to play for us all the time, remember?" she looked at him expectantly.

"Well, er, see, I don't… I haven't played in a long time." He said flatly.

"So do! Do! No one ever plays that old thing, it would be so nice to hear it again." She walked into the room, sitting down in an easy chair and watching him, waiting.

He took a step towards the piano. He chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. Well, there was no deterring the old woman now; he had pretty much signed his own death warrant. He would have to play.

He slipped down at the bench, lifting the key cover and folding it back. He noticed the family was gathering. He cursed his luck that they should all be wandering by and noticing him at the same time.

With a sigh, he put his fingers to the key.

****

A/N : Ahhhh, I love Severus! He's so adorable! But Ron's mooning over him is starting to annoy me. It ain't gonna happen, babe, get over Severus and go find a boy your own age! Ah well. Sev's family is dysfunctional. I can't wait to meet them, though. I wonder what his brother's will be like? Will they ever have that reunion? I wonder. They'll have to wait until he's reasonably aged though. But if those fricken Mungo wizards don't get a step on it, they might have to wait a four or five years so he at least looks like an adult! Poor Severus. I hope they cure him :-) but then will he still be friends with Hermione, Harry, and Ron? Or will he think himself above that? I wonder… ^_~

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	18. Chapter Eighteen: Beauty Mark

Disclaimer: I don't own HP. That's JK's. Also- the song ain't mine neither. It belongs to the worship-deserving Rufus Wainwright. I guess not everyone likes him but IIIIIII Do he's a beautiful boy ^_^ and his music is superb

_SLYTHERIN BOY_

**Chapter Eighteen: Beauty Mark**

He played the first few bars, which were a surprisingly cheerful set. He took a breath, preparing to start singing the lyrics. He'd never been ashamed to sing, as some people were. He didn't imagine he had a particularly good voice, but it wasn't bad, he had good tone and usually he sounded quite nice. He didn't particularly think about singing, he just always did it. It was surprising to the Weasley children, though, who hadn't expected him to do anything but play the piano.

"I never had it, I never wanted it, I never had your beauty mark," he sang. "No, did I have you black hair and hazel eyes," Fred and George exchanged glances. "My early childhood was not as simple as yours set in the country, no I did not have a fear of nuns who dressed in black. But I do… have your taste, I had no radio show, nor did I have homemade clothes, homemade curtains of the same material. I never had it, I never wanted it, I never had your beauty mark, beauty mark. But I do have your taste, and I do have your red face, and long hands," Ron was really surprised at how good Severus sounded. His heart rattled in his chest. "…I may not be so manly, but still I know you love me, even if I don't have your beauty mark. Beauty mark…" the last few notes of the song dropped off quickly, and he released his hands to sit in his lap.

"That was really fantastic!" Ron said. Fred and George looked startled that Ron had said it, and so vehemently. "You should be a musician!" Ginny smirked at Ron behind a hand. He seemed a bit too excited.

Severus looked up, glancing from red head to red head. "Well," he said. "I used to be. Before I was a Professor. I had to give it up though. The school offered infinitely more protection from Voldemort than otherwise." The name of the dark lord echoed strangely in his ears. He hadn't been aware of himself saying it, but now that he had, he wasn't really fearful of it as he used to be. Perhaps part of the fear had been secured by the Dark Mark, which had now been melted away.

"Do you think you'll ever do it again?" George asked.

"Maybe," Severus shrugged. "But I don't know. I've kind of gotten comfortable in my dark little hole at Hogwarts. And I doubt if I'd ever get Albus to set me free," he grimaced.

"But he already did," Ginny pointed out. "You haven't taught a class since you shrank," she said. 

"Since I shrank?" he asked her. "What a peculiar way to put it," he blinked, shaking his head slightly. He combed his hair with his fingers a little. "Well, whatever," he shrugged. 

He felt a dull throb coming into his head. He rubbed it absently. Suddenly, a sharp piercing pain behind his eyes made him clutch his head. "Ow!" he cried. The blinding pain quickly overcame him, and he saw white, yet again.

The Weasley family was startled when he'd grabbed his head, and before they knew it, he was being lifted from the piano bench, his knees making a cracking sound as they struck the underside of the piano roughly. He was levitated to the middle of the room, his eyes wide open, his eyes blank and unseeing.

George was clutching his shirt again. Severus's left arm dangled limply, but his right arm was resting on his chest, having not been shaken free when he was flung into the air. His legs dangled.

Arthur pulled out his wand. The first time he'd been too stunned to try and combat the seemingly malicious episode, but this time he had his wits about him. "Finite incantatem!" He said, waving his wand. There was a flash, but Severus was still hanging. 

"Wait, something changed," Ron said. "What did you do? He's still hanging there but something's different. What's different? He _looks_ different, somehow," 

"His eyes!" Ginny yelped, pointing.

"Woah," Ron said. He saw the difference, now. The left eye had stayed the same, but the other had changed colors. It was now a pale, crystal-clear blue color.

"You changes his eye color," Fred said. "But why would the spell do that?"

"Maybe my wand is defective?" Arthur wondered aloud. The orb was black again, but it hadn't stripped him of his clothing this time. There was a moment of warm buzzing from the orb, before, in stark red lettering, a single line appeared. "Search for the green-eyed boy." It said. There was a flash, and Severus dropped to the floor.

"It was shorter this time," Ginny murmured. Severus had woken upon hitting the floor, and he pushed himself up. Apparently, the shorter one wasn't nearly as draining as the first. "Ow," he said, rubbing the back of his head where he had hit it upon falling. He blinked, a dazed look on his face. "What happened? Why am I on the floor?" he asked. He shook his head, trying to clear it. "Did I have a seizure?"

"No, you had another one of those floating orb things," Ron said. "You have seizures?" he seemed puzzled.

"I used to, when I was a kid," he said. "I haven't had one in years and years and years, though," he seemed half-asleep. He stood up, his knees creaking. "Ouch, my legs hurt," he murmured. He shook his head again. He blinked.

"Severus, I think something's wrong with my wand," Arthur said. "It changed your eye color, but only the one eye,"

Severus seemed to become alert instantly. "What?" He said. His hand flew to cover the right eye automatically. 

"I did a finite incantatem, and it turned your eye blue,"

Severus seemed very distressed. "Why did you do that?!" He cried.

"…I don't understand, Severus, why are you so upset?" Arthur said.

"Because it's ugly and it scares people!" he said indignantly. 

"What?"

"My eyes are different colors," he frowned, his ears burning red.

"But… they're not… they're black," Fred said, looking puzzled.

"It's just a spell," Severus snapped. "Because people looked at me funny when I don't have it on," he looked very unhappy, his hand clapped over his right eye. "When I was eleven, on the train to Hogwarts, I put it on and I haven't taken it off since," he said. "I couldn't do it with my parents there, of course, or they would have been angry. So I kept my head down and took an empty compartment," he scowled. "So know one has ever known out of the family. Damn it all! Damn it all to hell!" He seemed _very_ upset.

"Can I see it again?" Ron asked. Severus glared at him with his free eye.

"Oh yes, please show us again," Ginny said eagerly. Severus looked unnerved. "Why?" he asked.

"It's cool," Ginny said. "I've never seen someone with eyes two different colors before,"

"It's ugly," Severus said stubbornly.

"Don't be ridiculous," Fred said. 

"Don't be so self-conscious," George said at the same time.

Severus looked at them unsurely, before slowly lowering his hand. The blue eye blinked out at them brightly.

"Coooooool," Ginny and Ron said together, leaning forward. Severus jerked back, away from their looming faces. 

"Stop towering like that!" He snapped.

"You should leave the spell off," Ron said, straightening. "I find that your eye adds just the right thing to make your image perfect," 

Severus lifted an eyebrow. "I'm sure," he said.

"No, really," Ginny said. "It's really nice looking. Leave the spell off. You'll surprise everybody at school!"

"I don't _want_ to surprise everybody at Hogwarts," he snapped. "I want to look like an ordinary person,"

"But you're not ordinary. You never have been and you never will be," Arthur said, tucking his wand away. Severus frowned at Arthur.

"You're saying I'm abnormal?" he said.

"You're extra-ordinary." Molly said. 

"Pff." Severus responded. "And by that I mean I hate you."

"Oh, no you don't, dear," Molly said, patting him on the shoulder. "You only think you do."

He sneered, but he didn't put the spell back on to cover his eye. "If I was in that floating thing again, then why didn't it say anything?" he asked blandly.

"Oh," Arthur said. "It did."

"Really?" Severus looked up. "What did it say?"

"It's said 'search for the green-eyed boy'," Ron said.

"I don't know any green-eyed boy," Severus frowned. 

"Well, that's why you've got to search for him. I bet he's the vessel you were supposed to look for." Ron murmured.

"The vessel? But you'd have to unite in body and soul, the thing said. Doesn't that mean, like, sex or marriage or something?" Fred murmured. "So that would be a girl, not a green-eyed _boy_,"

Severus made a noise of disgust. "I wouldn't want to have sex with a _girl_ that's disgusting," he said.

"What?" George said. "What are you saying?"

"Girls are gross, why anyone would ever want to… blech," Severus stuck his tongue out. "I really don't understand the mentality of straight boys," he shook his head.

"You're gay?" Ginny said.

"Well it's pretty obvious, isn't it?" He said, blinking. "I mean you never really honestly thought I was a hetero, did you?"

"Erm, well, I never really thought about it," Ginny said, blushing crimson. "I mean, you were my teacher. You're not supposed to be attracted to people. You're supposed to take points off and scold people for not doing their work,"

"Oh, I see," Severus rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll try to refrain from having a life outside of marking papers from now on,"

Ginny shrugged. "Well, what do you expect! I don't exactly think about teachers that way! I mean, when you were a student, did you think about who McGonagall was sleeping with?"

"Ginny!" Molly snapped.

"Ew, don't be vile," Severus said. He shook his head as though to rid himself of the mental image of McGonagall sleeping with anyone.

"See! You don't think about it either so why should I?"

"You've made your point," Molly said sternly. "Now, please, everyone. Why don't we all just let this conversation go."

They shrugged, and Severus collapsed into an armchair, as the Weasley children wandered off sheepishly. Arthur and Molly sat down on the sofa opposite Severus.

"What do you think of these messages you're getting?" Arthur asked thoughtfully.

"I think they make my heart hurt, and I think something is revealed about me every time, things that I'd rather not be found out, like my evil eye." He pointed to the blue eye. He waved his wand and the eye faded slowly to make the black color of his other eye.

"Oh, honestly," Molly said. She waved her wand and the black blinked into blue again.

"Why are you doing that?" Severus asked moodily.

"We'll have _no_ image altering spells in this house. You're above that, and it's childish and silly to do it,"

"Says the person with _matching_ eyes." He growled.

"Our roof, our rules," Arthur said.

"I am _not_ a child to be lured into your stupid games of alpha-dog!" Severus snapped.

"We don't permit our children to use those spells, and neither will you be allowed." Arthur said. "As long as you are staying here, you _will_ be a good example to our children."

"Oh, whatever," Severus growled.

"Back to the matter at hand," Molly said.

"Ah, yes," Severus said snidely.

"We are concerned about these occurrences and have been informing the Headmaster of all of it, the first one, your recovery, and now we'll report this one. Ron managed to catch the first on videotape, and we sent that to Albus as well. He has people studying it, but they are still baffled at it. However…" Molly trailed off, frowning.

"However what?" Severus was sure he wasn't going to like the answer.

"They were puzzled about part of the message that said your 'vessel', meaning your body, was altered to better complete your required task, which is to meet a certain other person, I suppose this green-eyed boy," Molly said. "They… they started to be suspicious of the potion occurrence. They began to wonder about it, so, the lead researcher rubbed it onto his skin. Nothing happened. They dumped a cauldron of it on him. Nothing happened. He even ingested it, thinking maybe it had gotten into your system somehow. All that happened was that he felt very euphoric for a while, and made a complete fool of himself as though he were high on some muggle drug. After that wore off, they deduced that the potion Neville Longbottom created, that had exploded on you when you transformed, was a completely harmless, simply botched potion."

Severus stared at her in horror. "N-No, that can't be," he said. "The only reason I transformed was _because_ of the potion! It landed on me, and immediately after, I changed! They must have the formula wrong! That's why they haven't found a cure yet,"

"With that suspicion, a few students were interviewed, and they testified that the potion had sprinkled a few of them slightly, or sprinkled their friends, but they'd had no change in appearance or age."

"Jesus Christ," Severus said. "This can't be true. You mean… no, it's not possible." He stood up, looking distraught.

"That means it wasn't the potion at all. It was something else. Something else entirely! But now… I guess… I'll look for this green-eyed boy. That must be how to change myself back… if it wasn't the potion, then it's whatever is also causing these messages. I… I'll have to follow them, it's the only way!" Severus's eyebrows furrowed together. "It wasn't the potion at all!" He shouted, before staggering out of the room.

****

A/N: Muahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

REVIEW!!!!

**Finished editing the chapters! Now back to continuing the story :-) Sorry for the delay but I just couldn't take it anymore. So without further ado… Review!**


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Train of Pain

Disclaimer: I love everyone who responses to my last er…. Rant. Heh. And … I know, I know, I'm sorry about the delay :'( Please oh please forgive me! I was working around this crazy awful writer's block :-[] Oh yeah, and I don't own the Potterverse. That all goes to JK :)

SLYTHERIN BOY 

**Chapter Nineteen: Train of Pain**

            Severus scowled as they boarded the train. He had wasted the entire summer! Searching through books, catalogues, yearbooks, staff books, client information. He'd searched his every file and photo for a boy with green eyes. Ron frowned at the dark-haired boy as they clambered into the compartment. They had been trying to arrange for Harry and Hermione to visit over the summer, but it had turned out that they'd not been able to arrange it. Harry had made it, sure, but Hermione had been stuck at a summer job at her Library. Severus was determined to hold a grudge about it.

            So while Harry and Ron had gallivanted about on the Weasley's spacious estate, Severus had stayed locked in his small, dark corner of the Weasley home, paging through yellowing, dusty tomes of faces from his University years. To no avail. He'd given up trying to discern between black and white photos of blue eyes and black and white photos of green eyes. There was no difference in the graying images.

            And the summer had wiled away from him, slipping through his fingers like lime flavored gelatin. He refused to look at Hermione or Harry when they clambered into the train car. 

            "Severus!" Hermione said, hugging him, much to his surprise and chagrin. It was hard to keep a grudge when the friend in question was seemingly unaware of it. She took her seat next to him, as he glared out the window. She looked at him in puzzlement, before shrugging away his pensive behavior as frustration at being a student again.

            They rode the train as normal, Harry, Ron, and Hermione chatting excitedly about the new year at Hogwarts. Severus, reminiscent of his own school years, sat quietly and stared out the window, seemingly unawares of the activity around him. 

            He began to get frustrated. Hermione wasn't even noticing that he wasn't talking to her. How could his so-called friend not even notice? He didn't know what to think anymore. First, the weird messages from God knows where, then the revelation that it wasn't even a potion that turned him back, and that they didn't know what it WAS that had done it, then he couldn't even see the one person who had kept him sane throughout the ordeal, and when he finally DID get to see her, she didn't even notice him!

            "Bullshit!" He snarled loudly. 

            Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at him. "What?" Harry said.

            "No, really," Ron said. "The Cannons are really coming back this year…" He blinked cluelessly.

            "You're all three of you just bull," Severus snapped. "Nothing about you is real, it's all just bullshit," he stood up.

"Apparently I can't rely on anything any of you say," he felt anger bubbling beneath his skin. "I can't believe you!" he snapped as he stormed out of the compartment.

****

            Severus glared out the window of the bright red door. He knew that his explosion had seemed abrupt and seemingly random, but he really just didn't feel like going back to his "friends" yet. He couldn't rely on any of them for anything. What kind of friends were they?

            He barely noticed as people walked by, whispering and staring at him as they did so. He worried the cuffs of his sweater as his breath clouded the chilled glass. There was a soft thump as he let his forehead drop against the cool glass, feeling unusually weary.

Two heavy hands grabbed him from behind. He jumped at the sudden grasp, only to feel the hands jerk his arms into a painful position in the small of his back. He kicked out blindly as he was yanked back to see Vincent Crabbe and Draco Malfoy step in front of him. Gregory Goyle's sneering face loomed over his shoulder. Severus was tall, but Goyle was taller, and made what seemed to be entirely of beef.

            "Well, Well, _Professor_," Draco smirked pompously. Severus glared at him, jerking his arms in a feeble attempt to wrestle free from Goyle's fat fingers. Draco crossed his arms, tapping his fingers momentarily on his jawbone, a haughty, almost aristocratic look on his face.

            "What the hell do you want, fuck-wit?" Severus snarled.

            "Ooh, temper, temper, my dark haired friend," Draco said.

            "A Malfoy is no friend of mine," Severus hissed.

            "Hah, that may very well be true," Draco smirked again, his pale face looking snakelike in the dimming light of dusk. "I heard something interesting recently, Snape," Draco leaned against the door that Severus had previously been staring out of.

            "I don't give a damn what you heard, you fucker," Severus growled. "Let the fuck go," He struggled in Goyle's grasp, only to be overpowered by the angle and strength that Goyle had his arms pinned in.

            "Ah, but it was a very interesting bit about _you_," Draco grinned toothily. "Any guesses?"

Severus paused, before he hissed, "Let go of me," He struggled again. "I'll have you expelled,"

            "I heard," Draco leaned in very close to Severus's face. He could feel the blond boy's moist breath on his skin. "That you were an arse-bandit," he got a delightedly malicious look on his face. 

            Severus's heart skipped a beat. "What?" He felt himself going pale. "Where'd you hear that?"

            "I'm not naming any names, but I learned it from a _very_ reliable source," Draco had the look of someone prepared to blackmail or harass another with very valuable and sensitive information.

            "Who?" Severus snarled. His voice cracked.

            "It's true isn't it? Well, it certainly explains a few things. I never really thought about it until I was told this. But when I think about it, you _are_ somewhat… _Nancy," _Draco gave a hiss of a laugh.

            "You piece of shit," Severus felt his ears burning red. He kicked towards Draco, but Draco simply nodded, and Goyle pulled him back too far to reach Draco.

            "But you should know, now, Snape," Draco cocked his head mockingly. "I don't really _like_ disgusting queers," He sneered again. "I also heard that not only are you, say, batting for the other team, but that you bat for the _Gryffindor_ team," Draco got a disgusted look on his face. "How much more of a disgrace to Slytherin could you _be_?"

            "Shut the fuck up, Malfoy. Thedisgrace to Slytherin is any blond son-of-a-bitch from the Malfoy family," Severus snapped. He was surprised by the firm crunch of Crabbe's knuckles slamming into his cheekbone. The affected area began to throb immediately. Severus stared in shock as Crabbed cracked his knuckles threateningly.

            "I won't have a brown hatter talking to me that way," Draco said.

            "For a hetero you sure know a lot of terms for homosexual," Severus said, ignoring the pain in his face.

            "Yes, well, I learned from a master," Draco sneered. "Father was always good at insults."

            Severus laughed bitterly. "Your father? D'you have any idea how many men I've seen him fuck?"

            Draco's face went still. Anger radiated from his entire body, his fists clenched so that you could barely see anything but white from his knuckles. "Lies!" He snarled. "How dare you spew such filth about my father! Crabbe!"

            Severus barely had time to think before the large, meaty boy was on him, pummeling his face and torso with his fists. Severus felt hot blood streaming from his nose and mouth to scald the pale skin of his face. When finally the fists stopped flying ,he opened one eye. The other eye had already swollen shut. He saw Draco's face come in very close to his.

            "You're very lucky I didn't have Crabbe kill you for that disgusting fucked gay comment about my father. If it hadn't meant my expulsion, you would be dead," Draco said softly.

            "You wish," Severus snarled, his speech muddled by his split lip. "Get the fuck out of my face," 

            A small spray of blood hit Draco's vampire pale cheek. He smirked slightly, taking his index finger and wiping the crimson droplets from his cheek. A trace of pink was still on his cheekbone where he had smeared it. "Or what? You'll send your gagging-for-it Gryffindor ginger after me?"

            Severus felt a sudden unexplainable rage at hearing Ron addressed in such a way. He shifted his weight back on his arms, ignoring the shooting pain sent through his arms and shoulders from the angle. He pulled his feet off the floor and kicked Draco in the chest with all of the strength he possessed.

            Draco wheezed as the kick forced the air from his lungs, and flew backwards to slam against the train door. Severus had used more strength than he'd expected, and he felt the icy chill of complete horror as the metal latch on the door bent and snapped off. The door flew open, filling the train with the almost overbearing sound of wind. Draco hurled out through the open door, landing on his head on the grass. They heard a sick crack beneath the wind and watched as Draco's limp body rolled down the hill. Severus's captor released his arms. He felt himself slump to the floor in disbelief. Blood ran down his neck to be soaked warmly into the neck of his sweater. He was almost amused by the fact that whenever something horrible was happening to him, he noticed to small, insignificant things.

            Goyle and Crabbe stared dumbly. Goyle jumped towards the door, and grabbed ahold of the edge. The wind blew his curly hair wildly as his wide eyes stared at the lump in the grass that was Malfoy.

            "Draco!" Goyle cried hoarsely, hanging halfway out the flapping door. Crabbe stared in shock and fear at Severus; He was sitting in a small, trembling pile on the floor, staring out the broken door at the quickly vanishing pile of robes in the grass.

            Crabbe bolted down the hall.

            ****

            The train was slowed to a halt almost instantly. Professors that rode the train to 'keep the peace' swarmed throughout the compartments, keeping the students in their places. Severus was still staring blankly, unable to will himself to move. His hands were shaking violently, and it wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that he jerked violently away. His hand covered his face and he whispered "Oh my God," as McGonagall hoisted him to a standing position.

            "Severus," she said, her voice shaking. "What happened?"

            "I kicked him," Severus said. "I kicked him and the door broke and he's dead, oh my god, I killed him, oh god," he murmured.

            "Draco Malfoy?" McGonagall asked carefully.

            "Oh my God!" Severus cried. He crumpled to the floor again, his hands covering his face and pulling at his hair. "Oh my god I murdered him, oh my god, I killed Draco Malfoy, I kicked him right out of the train,"

            "He fell out?" McGonagall's face was white. She pointed to Professor Vector, who promptly walked from the train into the waist-deep grass, apparently to find the boy in question.

            "He didn't fall out of the fucking train," Severus's shoulders shook. "_I _fucking _kicked_ him out of the fucking train!" He shouted, his voice thick. "I fucking killed him! I fucking… I…" His face turned white as he saw Vector hustling back to the door. She exchanged quick, hushed words with McGonagall. He caught the words "My God, Minerva, I checked for vitals and there's nothing, he's just… laying there… it looks like his neck broke,"

            He stared in horror as McGonagall looked back to him with a veiled expression of horror. 

            "I… I… am… a monster… a murderer…" He heard himself say as if from very far away.

            He felt dizzy. Black spots danced at his eyes. He saw but didn't feel his head hit the floor, before everything went black.

            ****

A/N: Woah! I really wasn't expecting that. Wow. I guess that's what one does to get over a writer's block :-D… I'm mixed between Sympathy for Draco and sympathy for Severus. It was accidental, really…


	20. Chapter Twenty: Judge and Jury

A/N: Hi! I don't own HP. But you knew that. My birthday was Friday or I would have posted this already heh but I was busy ^_^ Plus I just got back from State Finals for marching band like ten minutes ago, lol. SLYTHERIN BOY 

****

**CHAPTER TWENTY: Judge and Jury**

****

Severus sat outside the headmaster's office. His legs were pulled up in a chair and his forehead leaning against his knees. His hands were entangled in the hair on the back of his head, his arms shielding his face from view. The door of the Headmaster's office creaked open, and Albus looked down on the boy huddled in the cheap fold-out chair. 

"Come on in, Severus," he said. Severus didn't move. Albus sighed and grabbed Severus by the elbow, pulling him into a standing position and practically dragging him into the office. He wasn't usually one to drag a student like that, but he had experienced Severus in such a state several times the first time he was a student, and he'd learned that when he got in such a mortified, speechless state, the only way to bring him around was to force him.

Dumbledore let go of the dark-haired boy in front of the empty chair in the room. Severus promptly collapsed into it. He was no longer curled up, but his eyes stayed trained on his feet.

The staff was sitting in chairs against the wall, Narcissa Malfoy was sitting in a chair beside Albus's desk, looking quite somber, and Crabbe and Goyle were sitting nervously in chairs next to Severus's.

Severus felt a trickle of sweat drip down his temple. His heart was racing, his fingers were tingling. His head was bubbling in a dazed feeling of disconnection. 

The staff looked at him warily. His eyes were very wide, his face more pale than normal. His shoulders were visibly shaking, and he seemed very unresponsive. Minerva recalled him being in such a state for a few weeks after he was attacked by the Werewolf in his sixth year.

Albus folded his hands on his desk, looking from one boy to another, his eyes finally resting on Severus. "Severus, would you like to tell me what happened?" Albus said. "I've already heard from Gregory and Vincent. I would like to know your version of the story."

Severus shook as he looked from Albus to Narcissa. His eyes even glanced at Goyle and Crabbe for a moment.

"Well, I imagine it all started when I got on the train." His voice shook. "I was upset for having to come back here as a student. Again. None of them even noticed, even Hermione. It was all happy talk about _Quidditch_," he spat the word. "Of course, I couldn't have any of that, and I kind of blew up at them and stormed out." He shrugged. "I ended up looking out the door in the corridor. At this point, it was still closed." He swallowed heavily. "Anyway, I was minding my own business when that idiot grabbed me from behind." He jerked his head in Goyle's direction. "Draco and Vincent step up in front of me. Draco kept talking about something he'd found out about me." He was shaking badly. "We started arguing and then he kept making insinuations and insults about my, erm, sexual orientation. Calling me a homosexual in almost every offensive way he could think of." He frowned. 

They sat in silence for a moment. Severus seemed unable to continue. "Severus?" Albus asked softly. "Please continue."

Severus blinked. "Yes, well. I basically told him he could go fuck himself, and I made blatant mentions of things I'd seen his father do to men. He didn't like that. He called his goons on me. After a good ten or fifteen minutes of being pummeled, they stopped. I was bleeding everywhere. Then Draco told me I was lucky that he hadn't killed me, and that if it wouldn't have resulted in his expulsion that I'd be dead." He swallowed again. "I told him to get the fuck out of my face. He said 'or what? You'll send your gagging-for-it Gryffindor ginger after me?'" Severus swallowed. "That finally snapped me, and I leaned back and kicked him square in the chest. I hadn't really thought about the fact that the door was there, but I wouldn't have imagined it should have made a difference. But the latch bent or broke or something, and the door flew open, and Draco just flew out. He landed on his head and rolled down the hill." Severus looked up at Albus's studying eyes, before swallowing and looking down at his feet again.

Albus steepled his fingers and thought for a moment. "I've decided that none of you will be expelled. This is a very serious matter, but I can see that this was completely accidental. You three will serve six weeks of separate detentions for fighting on the train." 

No one said anything for a long time, before Crabbe and Goyle stood up. Dumbledore nodded and they left. The teachers slowly filed out, followed by Narcissa. Severus continued to sit and look at his feet.

"Do you need to talk, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

"I… I just…" he trembled. A tear dripped from his eye but he brushed it roughly away with the heel of his hand. "I don't know what to think," he said.

"Severus, I know that you were not at fault for what happened. I know that you did not instigate the fight, and I know you would never consciously attempt to harm a student. Kicking him in the chest doesn't make you a murderer. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Please don't feel too guilty about it." Dumbledore said somberly. Severus nodded, rubbing his eyes again.

"Severus… why did he think you were a homosexual?" Dumbledore asked, suddenly.

Severus was caught by surprise. He'd always personally thought of himself as fairly effeminate. That anyone would assume him to be heterosexual was something he barely ever considered. "Because…" Severus said. "Because I am…" he said, wide-eyed.

Dumbledore looked shocked for a moment. "O-oh," he said. "I'm sorry, I never realized,"

"Nothing to be sorry about. I guess I'm not very public… about anything," Severus murmured. "I've always assumed it was obvious. I mean look at me," he smirked slightly, sniffing. "Someone told Draco. I'm not sure who. There was an incident last term when I ended up kissing Ron Weasley. It was an accident, I assure you. That's what Draco was talking about with the ginger comment. I'm not sure why it made me so angry. Like I would ever really be involved with a Gryffindor, right?" He sniffed again, smiling slightly.

Dumbledore looked shocked again, before his face turned gentle. "I suppose, Severus, that the day you date a Gryffindor will be the day I join the deatheaters," he smiled at the boy, before waving a hand to dismiss him. Severus plunged his hands into his pockets, a gnawing guilt still eating at his insides, and walked out of the room.

****

Severus sat at the dinner table in the Great Hall. He looked hollow-eyed and haggard. "Severus," Hermione said when she sat down. She looked sympathetic. Harry looked sympathetic, too, perhaps thinking about Cedric's death and how it felt to blame yourself for someone else dying. "We heard what happened," she said.

"Did you?" he said hoarsely. He felt unable to eat anything, and stared at the plate of food that Hermione had heaped in front of him.

"I'm so sorry," Hermione said. Ron stared, his blue eyes thoughtful.

"For what? He wasn't my son or my friend." Severus snapped, pushing the food away. "I'm not hungry." He said. His hands shook.

"I know you weren't friends with him, Severus, but I know you must feel guilty and upset about it," Hermione said.

"It wasn't my fault!" Severus snapped, glaring at her. "It was an accident!"

"Psychologists say there's no such thing as an accident," Seamus, who had been eavesdropping, said. Severus looked over sharply. 

"Have you ever even been to a psychologist?" Severus hissed at Seamus. "Don't you know that Psychologists are full of bullshit? They don't know what the hell they're talking about!"

Seamus opened his mouth, but seeing the anger burning in Severus's eyes, he closed it. 

The rest of dinner followed in awkward silence.

****

Ron rapped lightly on Severus's new quarters door. The door jerked open a few inches, snapping to a halt at the end of the metal chain. "What?" Severus snapped through the door.

"I just wanted to talk," Ron said.

Severus looked at him suspiciously. "No," he finally said.

"What?" Ron said in puzzlement.

"I said no. Get the hell out of here," Severus narrowed his eyes. As he moved to close the door, Ron pushed his body against the door, using his strength to keep Severus from closing it. He wormed his long fingers around the cool wood of the door to somehow unlatch the chain. The door fell open and he tumbled into Severus. 

This time, they managed to keep from falling in a heap on the floor. Ron let the door close behind him, his eyes adjusting to the dimmer firelight of the room. Severus's button-up black work shirt was hanging open, and Ron could see a few dark streams of blood running down his porcelain skin to be absorbed into the elastic of his boxer shorts, which were sticking about a centimeter above the waist of his trousers.

Severus's fingers were smeared slightly red, and a fingerprint of blood was on his right cheek, which had been hidden by the door. His hair was slightly disheveled, and some red spots were on the previously flawless pale green carpeting.

"Jesus, Snape," Ron said. Severus frowned slightly. Ron hadn't addressed him as Snape in awhile. 

"Why do you do that to yourself?" Ron asked. "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't…" Severus trembled. He touched the wound on the lower part of his ribcage. "I don't… Fuck," he said. "I don't even know,"

"Doesn't it hurt?" Ron asked.

Severus looked down at the hot blood crawling onto his fingers. "I don't really notice it. It's like this tension builds and builds and then, when I do it, all that tension just bleeds away." He swallowed. Ron could see his Adam's apple move.

"Let me heal it for you," Ron said softly. Severus looked at him questioningly, but when Ron walked forward with his wand, he made no move to step away. Ron bent his head, pushing the dark cloth of Severus's shirt out of the way to reveal a wound on the thin boy's ribcage and a long razor cut on his chest. He raised his wand and healed the wounds with a glowing pastel blue light. He could feel Severus trembling beneath his fingers as he took a handkerchief out of his robes and wiped the blood from Severus's body. Two small, pale scars showed where he had healed him. He looked up, into Severus's face.

Severus kept eye contact for a moment, before his long eyelashes drooped and he turned his head slightly, his raven hair falling to mask half of his face. Ron stepped closer, pulling his body against Severus's, his arms wrapping around the thin frame of the dark-haired boy.

Severus leaned in to the warm comfort of Ron's arms. He let his head drop to the side, falling comfortably into the crook of Ron's neck. Ron's hand rubbed Severus's warm back, his other one moving to stroked the dark hair that he was so attracted to. The soft, feathery feeling making his heart throb.

"I really like you Severus," Ron said. Severus's mouth seemed to have found its way to the tender flesh of Ron's neck. Ron felt his eyes close in pleasure. Severus's hand moved to the back of Ron's head, guiding him to follow as he backed up, entering a large sitting room with dark green leather furniture. He guided Ron onto a surprisingly soft leather sofa, which sank like a feather pillow under their weight. Severus looked up, his intense eyes burning with need. There was a pause between the two of them, before Severus's mouth contacted Ron's. Ron sank into the kiss, his fingers dancing along the bare chest of the other boy.

****

Ron opened his eyes. Sunlight was dripping into the room from high windows along the ceiling. He was struck with a moment of confusion, before the heavy weight of another body alerted him that he was probably not in the dormitory. A head of black hair greeted him as he looked down. A pale shoulder and hand on his bare chest led to the body of Severus Snape, once his most hated teacher, and the first boy he'd ever kissed. A heavy green duvet was pulled over the two of them and he remembered the night before. As he stirred, Severus's hand moved slightly, before he lifted his head, his sleepy eyes looking into the blue depths of Ron's.

"Oh," he said. He lifted himself up with one arm. Ron realized that his own body was clothed to match Severus, nothing but his boxer shorts. It made sense, considering how they'd almost actually made love the night before. He was strangely glad that he hadn't. He didn't think he was ready for something of that level.

"Fuck," Severus said, suddenly, his eyes widening. He looked to the clock on the wall. "Class!" He said with a sense of urgency. Ron looked over, and was standing and pulling his clothing on within thirty seconds.

****


	21. Chapter TwentyOne: Razorblade Kiss

Disclaimer: I'm making lots and lots of money off this. I am exploiting people into believing that I, myself, am JK Rowling and selling this stupid fanfiction for a hefty sum. Wait… no, I'm not.

SLYTHERIN BOY 

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Razorblade Kiss**

****

            Hermione stared suspiciously at Ron and Severus, who had burst into Potions late, together, looking disheveled. They had already missed three classes, and she knew from Harry's worrying that Ron hadn't shown up in the dormitory the night before. Seeing them enter together had filled her head with unwholesome images that she quickly banished, before beginning to speculate on what had really happened.

            Of course, they had both been sufficiently scolded by Professor Jericho, and received a one hour detention for the evening. Once again, Severus has whisked through the lesson while the rest of the students struggled with Jericho's mediocre explanation of it. He had sat thoughtfully, staring blankly at the board as the Professor sent him glances mixed in annoyance and concern.

            The class ended soon enough, and the students filed out of the room. They seemed to be avoiding Severus, but Hermione, Ron, and Harry shot them glares and stuck stubbornly by him as he spidered down the corridor. 

            "You know," Severus's soft voice said edgily. "You needn't walk so close to me, Potter," 

            Harry felt a flare of annoyance at the boys ungrateful behavior, before catching a glance from Hermione and taking a few steps away from Severus. He scowled noticing that Ron was walking closer to Severus than he had been.

So close, in fact, that he could see Ron's freckled fingers brushing against Severus's long, elegant hands. He felt his eyebrows jump as he saw Severus move his fingers to give a small, caressing touch against Ron's palm. Apparently, Ron was as surprised, as a red blush crept up from the collar of his robes. Harry shook his head, a slight protectiveness coming over him at having his ex-professor touching his best friend in such an innocently intimate way.

As they reached the Great Hall, though, all thoughts of Ron and Severus vanished from his head at the sight of the feast laid out for them.

****

Dumbledore had said that he felt the school needed some time to heal and that one way he'd found people healed better was with a warm hearth and a satisfied stomach. He informed them that every day for the following two weeks there would be a feast either for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

There would have been a cheer for the idea if it hadn't been given because of such a somber occasion. Even the students who hadn't liked Draco had been shocked by his death. It was one thing to have a student die at the hands of the dark lord. Draco's death, however, was at the hands of three of their classmates. Accidentally, sure, but nonetheless, it gave them an uneasy feeling.

Severus ate in silence, barely acknowledging the people around him. He was dreadfully conscious of eyes on him as he swallowed his food. He felt intense nervousness as he sat. He glanced up, staring at the rest of the table. His eyes were large, his face somewhat hollow looking. He looked like a deer in the headlights. Hermione noticed a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"Severus?" Hermione said apprehensively. For an instant his eye gleamed a pale, sorrowful blue before blinking back to black. Hermione was shocked slightly, unsure of what she had just seen.

"Did you see that?" Hermione asked.

"What?" Severus said.

"Yeah, I saw it," Seamus said slowly.

"What?" Severus snapped, uncomfortable. Ron glanced over. He didn't know what they were talking about.

"You're eyes," Seamus said. "They changed color for a moment," he swallowed, looking puzzled. "Turned blue,"

"Just the one," Hermione said. "It wasn't both of them. It was just one."

Ron frowned. "You must be seeing things," he said, with a strong glance at Hermione. She seemed to get that it was a subject best left alone. Ron had watched as Severus had applied the concealing charm on his eye in the train, but it felt like so long ago that he hadn't really thought about the mismatched irises.

Hermione wondered, for the hundredth time, what had happened that summer. Ron and Severus both seemed quite changed, and she wasn't really sure of the details of what had happened. She was unhappy that Severus seemed angry, detached. The worst thing that she sensed was that he seemed scared. She had never known Severus to be openly frightened about anything, and perhaps he didn't realize that he seemed that way. All she knew was that he seemed terrified to the bone.

****

Severus looked up as the figure approached.

"Severus," said the familiar voice. He scowled.

"What do you want?" he snapped. Lupin sat down in the armchair across from him. 

"Shouldn't you be in a class right now?" Lupin questioned, frowning slightly.

"I graduated twenty years ago, Lupin, I hardly think it necessary to attend _every_ class on the schedule. With those dimwits and bastards," 

"Did something happen?" Lupin wondered.

"Yes, something happened. On the train. I killed someone. I think that I have a right to sit out if I'm not feeling up to the class at the moment." Severus snapped.

"Severus, everyone understands that it was an accident." Lupin said honestly.

"Yes, they understand it, but you know what they think when they look at me? They think 'that guy murdered someone.' It doesn't matter if they can reason the blame away from me. The fact is, I have Malfoy's blood on my hands, and it will never, ever go away." Severus was shaking slightly as he spoke.

"Severus, people aren't thinking that when they look at you," Lupin said. "I promise. I don't think that when I look at you, and I doubt that anyone else does either."

"Then why are they _always_ staring at me? Their eyes haven't been off me since the train arrived. They stare because of their morbid fascination and paranoia about the fact that I killed one of their classmates. For what? Calling me a queer. Good reasoning, huh?"

"We know that that's not what happened, Severus. We know he was threatening you _and_ that he assaulted you beforehand. None of it is your fault."

"Shows how much you know." Severus hissed.

They sat in silence for a few moments. The library was mostly deserted save a few ambling first years who were studying. 

"Are you saying it was intentional?" Lupin asked.

"Of course not, what do you take me for?" Severus narrowed his eyes.

"If it wasn't intentional, then it wasn't your fault." Remus reasoned.

"That's where you're wrong. I kicked him through the door, it's my fault."

Lupin sighed. "Whatever you say, Severus. I don't know why I try to talk to you sometimes. You really have it in your head that you never want to be comforted by anyone." He frowned and stood up.

"What should I need comforting for? At least _I'm_ not a Werewolf."

Lupin flinched, before turning sharply at Severus. "What would you know about it, anyways? Really mature, there, Severus, cutting me down about something I can't even control or help. If you wanted people to treat you like an adult, perhaps you should start acting like one, instead of like the immature, selfish brat that you are!"

He turned and shuffled out of the library. 

Severus scowled. It had been a low blow, and he knew it as he'd done it. There was just something about Lupin that aggravated him, and he didn't really care what it was. All he knew was that it was annoying, and that he would do anything to make Lupin go away as soon as possible. Including being an immature, selfish brat.

****

Severus ambled into the potions room, seeing Ron already there for their detention. Professor Jericho entered moments later, frowning at the two of them. She thrust at them buckets with wiry scrub brushes in them. She pointed to the sinks in the corner.

"Fill these up with soap and water. Then get to scrubbing the graffiti off the desks. No magic, or you'll find yourselves scrubbing the floors and scraping gum, too." She said sharply. Ron had a gloomy face as he and Severus began to fill the buckets.

She shot them a glance as they set to scrubbing the graffiti, before disappearing into the office. She left the door open a crack so she could hear if they were using spells, but apparently she felt herself above supervising them as they worked.

They scrubbed in silence, feeling slightly awkward as they thought about the night before.

"Severus…" Ron said finally. Severus jumped slightly, knocking his bucket over. Soapy water spilled all over the table and floor, soaking the cuffs of his shirtsleeves and sending the bucket rolling with a clang onto the floor.

"Damn you, look what you made me do," Severus sighed. He kneeled down, reaching under the table to get the bucket. Ron kneeled and picked up the scrubber that Severus had set down.

They looked at each other for a moment, before Ron suddenly moved forward, his knees brushing against Severus's legs as he brought his face in close. Ron's fiery hair brushed against Severus's forehead, mingling with Severus's own black locks as the boy drew closer. He smelled like soap.

Severus inhaled slightly as Ron pushed that fraction closer, his hands coming up to tangle in Severus's hair as he kissed him long and hard. Severus felt the warmth of Ron's body and the gentleness of his moth and sank into the warm affection, feeling all of his worries and thoughts vanish beneath the surprisingly skilled mouth of the redhead.

He let his fingers wander tantalizingly over Ron's robes and uniform as Ron moved to Severus's neck, enjoying the earthy, herb-filled smell of the pale boy. Severus let a small sound of appreciation escape as he laced his fingers into Ron's bright hair. He closed his eyes as the boy tasted his skin, before the office door creaked open. Severus's eyes opened and he glanced hazily over, before jumping at the stunned figure of Jericho.

"W-What is going on here?!" She said, gathering her composure. Ron looked up from his position, sprawled across Severus's form.

Ron frowned at her, his head still in the crook of Severus's neck.

"I asked you a question!" She snapped.

"What does it look like?" Severus snarled. He felt Ron shiver against him.

"It looks like a former professor was about to shag an underage student in the middle of a classroom with another professor in the next room!" She said.

Severus blinked. It had been a long time since he had felt like a former professor. He had felt like a child again, and apparently had somehow accepted and come to terms with it.

"Not quite." Severus said, his thoughts racing. "Weasley thought he saw a mark on my neck and was investigating it." He said blandly.

"Investigating it with his tongue?" Jericho hissed.

"Yes." Severus said.

"Get out of my classroom, both of you!" She finally snapped. "Forget it! Get out of here. If you're late to class again I will skin you alive!"

Ron and Severus picked themselves up from the floor and walked out of the classroom. Severus said nothing to Ron as they walked in silence. 

"I don't want you to do that anymore." Severus said. Ron looked at him, startled. 

"…Why?" he asked.

"It doesn't work. I can't do this. You are very young. Go find a young boy to be with." Severus gave a wave of his hand.

"You're the same as me right now," Ron said.

"Well then I just don't like you." Severus snapped. Ron got a hurt look on his face, before he covered it with anger.

"Fine! You're such a liar, I hate you!" he said angrily. "And you're a tease, too! What's wrong with you?"

"I'm a bastard," Severus said. "I thought you already knew that?" he sneered.

Ron got an indignant look, before turning and storming off. "Fuck you," he muttered as he left. Severus watched him go, before sinking back against the wall. He leaned his head against the cold stone, his dark hair shielding his features from view.

He stood up quietly, a soft resolve in the way he held his shoulders. He turned into the nearest boys lavatory. He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. His face was thin and his eyes haunted. He didn't like that haunted look. He slipped his hands into his pockets, frowning and looking down before rolling his sleeves up and washing his hands and face slowly and methodically.

****

Ron, Hermione, and Harry sat at the table. Harry looked at Ron. "Where's Severus?" he asked.

"How'm I supposed to know?" Ron snapped. "I'm not his nanny."

"But you saw him last, right? You had that detention with him last night." Hermione said carefully.

"Yeah, but how would I know where he is this morning? That's none of my business. Maybe he's just skipping breakfast because he's a jerk." Ron snapped.

"Wow, keep your pants on Ron, I was just wondering. You don't have to act like I'm interrogating you."

"Well, I don't know where he is!" Ron snapped.

Harry scowled and shot a glance at Hermione. She just lifted her eyebrows into a facial shrug.

****

"Christ!" Blaise Zabini burst into the Potions room. Professor Jericho looked up at the panicked boy.

"What is it, Blaise?" she asked.

"He… In the boys lavatory…" He said. His hazel eyes were wide, his dark skin flushed.

"Show me," She said, recognizing that the boy was beyond words. She followed him to the lavatory, walking into the strangely clean room. He pointed to a stall. She saw a pair of black-clad feet from below the door, and saw a streak of red across the floor where they were. She felt suspicious.

"I looked in… he wasn't answering, I wanted to make sure he was alright… he's…" Blaise stammered.

"Go get Professor McGonagall," She said sternly. He nodded and bolted the room. Lila pushed the door slightly. It opened a small bit and she saw another red streak on the blue painted wall. She swallowed, and opened the door all the way.

"Severus!" She said. He was sitting on the toilet with the lid down. His sleeves were pushed up past his elbows, his arms looking torn to bits. The wrists were slashed open. A bloody razorblade lay on the floor near his feet. He was covered in blood, his head tilted back to rest on the water tank.

When McGonagall arrived, they set about carting him to the hospital wing.

****

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared nervously at Dumbledore. He was sitting behind his massive wood desk, looking at them thoughtfully.

"Do you think Severus Snape is under a lot of mental strain?" He said, suddenly. They looked at him in surprise. They were sure that he was going to give them some horrible news, or that he had found out something and they were in big trouble.

"Uh… sir?" Ron asked.

Dumbledore gave a weary sigh. "Have you noticed that Severus has been feeling under a lot of pressure, or strain?"

"Well, sure. He's been having trouble dealing with the whole… Draco thing." Hermione said. 

"Did you know that he cuts himself?" Dumbledore asked quietly. Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance.

"What do you mean, sir?" Harry asked.

"With a razorblade? Did you know?" Dumbledore looked up at them. His eyes were sad.

"We knew he used to," Hermione said. "We weren't aware that he was doing it _now_…"

"Blaise Zabini found him in the bathroom near the Potions Classroom this morning." Dumbledore said simply. "He'd been there all night, apparently. He was not dead, but he was unconscious. There were self-inflicted wounds all up and down his arms."

Ron blinked, his face chalk white.

"Is he okay?" He asked.

"He… will be. Physically. We don't know what has triggered this… event. Professor Jericho has informed me of something that happened at his detention last night which might be relevant, however," Dumbledore looked pointedly at Ron, who's face went even whiter.

"You don't think that caused this, do you?" Ron said.

"No, son, no we don't think it was your fault in the least. But I would like to talk to you… privately." Dumbledore said.

"Then why are we here?" Harry asked.

"As his friends, we thought it was important that you knew what had happened. Hermione and Harry, you are free to go. I would like to speak with Ron privately for awhile."

"O-Okay," Hermione said. She looked quite distressed. Harry put an arm around her in comfort as the two of them left.

"Mr. Weasley… just what is the nature of your relationship with Severus?" Dumbledore began.

****

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up. I have been working on it for awhile but I never seemed to get around to finishing it. Sorry : ( 


	22. Chapter TwentyTwo: Krummy Luck

Disclaimer: I don't own this. Guess what? I get lonely sitting at my computer hour after hour. If anyone wants to IM me my AIM name is 'Me Before E' or 'Am I Plausible' or sometimes I still use 'SeverusIscariot'. So feel free : )

SLYTHERIN BOY

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: Krummy Luck 

****

            "Just what is the nature of your relationship with Severus?" Dumbledore asked, his fingers steepled.

            Ron swallowed. "I… really don't know, Headmaster," he said. "He's a tease." He scowled.

            "What do you mean by that?" Dumbledore lifted an eyebrow.

            "Well one second he's acting like he wants me to kiss him, and the next minute he's acting as though I'm a particularly hard to remove piece of gum on his shoe." He scowled. He was uncomfortable sharing these thoughts with Dumbledore, but he felt unable to keep from spilling. He was starting to think that the Headmaster had some sort of truthing power that would make you spill your guts even if you didn't want to.

            "And what happened, from your perspective, at the detention last night?"

            "Well," Ron frowned. "I kissed him. He just looked so… lost. I felt so bad for him, and I went to hug him, but instead I kind of… just kissed him. He didn't mind it _then_. In fact he seemed to like it," Ron blushed. "Then Professor Jericho came in, though, and it got all nervous and uncomfortable. She told us to leave, and we did. Then in the hall we had a sort-of squabble over it, and he told me he didn't like me after all. Of course, I got angry because he had led me on that way, and I said, er, some nasty things to him and left. I didn't see him again after that."

            Dumbledore frowned. "Ron, I don't really know what to say to you. I haven't really had much experience talking to students about relationships, particularly same-gender relationships. Plus, this one is even more unique in that Severus is mentally so much older than you,"

            "He's not, though!" Ron snapped, before catching himself. He blushed, and averted his eyes. "I mean, everyone keeps saying how he's so much older. But he's not! The only difference between me and his is that he's been alive longer, he has the memories of it. But his body and the way his brain works, they're the same as mine. He's completely sixteen years old. Not a thirty-whatever year old in a sixteen year old body. He IS sixteen. I don't understand why everyone is having such a hard time grasping that. The only thing left of his old self is memories. And it wasn't even the potion that made him turn back, it was just good timing by whatever powers had decided to turn him back. Likely as not he won't find a way to turn back and will just have to live it out again." Ron said.

            Dumbledore looked at him carefully. "Well, I suppose you're right. I don't think Severus sees it that way."

            "I know he doesn't! He told me I should find a boy my own age. He still thinks he'll be able to cure himself. He thinks there's something dirty or immoral about being with me. He thinks I'm not good enough for him."

            "Oh, come now, Ron, I'm sure he doesn't think that." Dumbledore said. "I think he feels guilty about liking you. Granted I don't know anything about his tastes in… partners. It has only just come to my attention at all that he was… homosexual."

            Ron blushed angrily. "Why do you keep doing that?" he asked.

            "Doing what, Ron?" Dumbledore said, sincerely puzzled.

            "Every time you say anything about him being queer you pause beforehand. Tastes in…" Ron over-dramatized the pause. "Partners. That he was…" he emphasized the pause with a nod of his head. "Homosexual. Can't you just say it? Severus Snape is gay. Severus is a queer. Why can't people just say it? You wouldn't have paused if you said you didn't know anything about his tastes in women. There's nothing wrong with it!"

            "I know there isn't, Ron, I never said there was. I think you're reading too much into what was only me trying to pick the most appropriate word for the situation." Dumbledore said seriously.

            Ron huffed and frowned. "Well maybe I'm just being sensitive. People treat me different now. I mean I'm not even out to anyone but Harry and Hermione, but the other boys suspect. They shoot my that funny 'backs to the walls' look."

            "Maybe you should talk to them." Dumbledore said.

            Ron frowned. "Is Severus going to be alright?" he asked, changing the subject.

            "He will be. He will probably be in the hospital wing for a few more days, he lost a great deal of blood, but he didn't cut himself deep enough to be irreparable. We're considering hiring a therapist to come to the school." 

            "Severus says that psychologists don't know anything, that they don't know what the hell they're talking about." Ron said.

            "I'm sure he does. Which is why we're only considering it. We haven't had luck with therapists before, Severus seems to refuse to open up to them. They claim that they can't help him unless he talks to them, but you know Severus. He doesn't open up easily."

            "True," Ron said. There was a pause as each of them thought. Ron felt himself getting antsy. He finally looked up, and said, "Sir, may I leave now?"

            Dumbledore looked at him, before nodding somberly. "Yes, Ron, you may leave. However, feel free to come talk to me about anything. And if you notice that Severus is… acting strangely, or if you know that he is hurting himself in any way, please notify me. It is very important that we know these things."

            Ron nodded, swallowing. "Yes sir." It was still on his mind that maybe if he had told Dumbledore two days before that he had walked in on Severus while he was wounded, maybe none of this would have happened.

            He stood up slowly, before turning and walking out. 

            ****

He went straight to the common room, slumping onto the couch beside Harry and Hermione. He felt rotten.

            "What did Dumbledore ask you?" Harry asked.

            "Just about my friendship with Severus. He was probably trying to figure out if we were in some sort of a relationship, since Severus apparently just came out to him."

            Seamus and Dean, who were playing chess nearby, looked up at Ron.

            "What did you tell him?" Hermione asked, her subtle way of finding out for herself.

            "Well, Jesus, Hermione, I told him that nothing was going on. Nothing IS going on, other than that Severus is being a complete bastard." He sighed.

            Seamus looked at Ron. "What's he doing?" he asked blankly.

            Ron swallowed, thinking about what Dumbledore had said to him. He decided that he didn't care what they thought, and that if they didn't like him being gay, that was their problem. He wasn't going to pretend he was straight for their sakes. "One minute he acts like he likes me, and then all of a sudden he doesn't again. He's being a complete and utter tease," he said.

            "So… you like him then?" Dean asked. His eyes were wide.

            "Well…" Ron blinked at him. He was worn out. "Yes, I like him. A lot."

            "So… you're… er…" Seamus began awkwardly.

            "I'm queer." Ron said. "Yes, I am queer."

            Dean looked a little squicked. "Why?" He asked.

            Ron stared at him. "What?" he asked blankly.

            "Why would you be gay? Why aren't you straight?"

            "What?" Ron said incredulously. "I don't know, that's like asking 'Hey Ron, why would you have straight hair? Why isn't it curly?' or 'Ron, why are your eyes blue? Why don't you have them as brown?'. It's not something you can just change. I can't just be like, 'okay, I'm straight now.' It doesn't work that way, Dean. It's not like it's a choice!"

            "Well, sure it is," Dean said. "You're saying it's not a choice who you kiss? Who you _shag_?"

            "I'm saying it's not a choice who I LIKE. You've like Lavender for what, a year now?" Ron said. 

            Dean frowned a little. "Around that, yeah, probably."

            "Well, you can't just choose _not_ to like her, can you? You still like her even after she's turned you down. It's not about the fact that it's a choice to kiss someone. Anything you physically do is a choice. But the actual attraction to someone… that's not a choice. I can't just choose to be attracted to a girl." He said.

            "Whatever," Dean said. He blinked, before standing and walking up towards the dorm. "Just don't come near my arse," he said nastily.

            Ron's mouth dropped open at the injustice of the statement. "Hey Dean, if you can't even get a girl, why on earth do you think a boy would want you?" He snarled up the hallway.

            Seamus looked at Ron. "It's okay, Ron. He'll come around." He said.

            "So… you… don't think it's weird?" Ron asked.

            "Well, I mean, I never really suspected until Snape came around. But it's not that big of a deal. My eldest brother is gay." He shrugged. "I don't have a problem with it. I know you're not going to, well, come after me or anything. Hell, I can't get a girl either." Seamus winked. 

            "Hey, I had an idea the other day, Ron, but I got distracted by the whole Draco thing," She swallowed and frowned slightly.

            "What was it?" Ron asked. Hermione perked up again.

            "Well, I was reading about how there was this school in the US where they started a Gay-Straight Alliance." She smiled. "It's like a support group thing for gay students. I mean straight kids go too, it's like so you can meet people who you know won't discriminate against you. There was an article about it in the newspaper. The group would schedule things like going out to see plays and films and stuff that gave a positive message to gay youth and whatnot. We could try something like that, couldn't we? I mean we could get permission from Dumbledore, I'm sure he'd let us," she said.

            "Oh, I don't know Hermione," Ron said. "I don't really want to become the gay pariah of Hogwarts," he scowled. 

            "But you won't!" Hermione said. 

            "Of course I will. You will start it, and everyone will know you did it because you're friends with me. They'll think you're starting a dating service or something. Poor ickle Ronniekins can't find a date, so super-brain Hermione makes a club for all the gay kids to get together and give head." Ron sneered.

            "Oh, don't be ridiculous, Ron!" Hermione snapped. "Only the close minded people will think something as stupid as that, and you wouldn't want to be friends with them anyway, would you?"

            Ron grunted. "Whatever." He said finally. "Yeah, I guess. It is a good idea. I just don't like being the mascot."

            Hermione smiled. "You're not a mascot, Ron. It will be a good thing. Other gay students might be able to have somewhere to go, then, where they won't feel awkward."

            Harry grinned. "I can think of a few Gryffindors who would join. I mean of course me and Hermione, the straight ones. But I'm sure the Creevey brothers would join, too," Harry winked. Hermione grinned in spite of herself.

            "Now, you don't know that they're gay, Harry,"

            "I can see it," Ron said. 

            Harry laughed, and Hermione elbowed him in t he ribs. "Right," she said. "Honestly, you two are as bad as Dean,"

            ****

            Severus blinked. The white antiseptic feeling of the hospital wing hit him instantly. He sat up, instantly aware. Usually he woke groggily, and it was strange for him to be so suddenly alert. He looked around. Lupin was sitting in a chair next to his bed.

            "What do you want, Lupin?" He snapped. He had no idea why the Werewolf would be visiting him.

            "I was waiting for you to wake up."

            "I can hardly think of why," Severus snapped.

            "Look, Severus," Remus said. "I know you don't like me. Okay? You don't need to keep throwing it in my face." He stood up, dropping a newspaper into Severus's lap. "I just thought you might be interested in this article. Seems you aren't the only one who's hit a time warp these days. Sorry for bothering," he scowled and left.

            Severus blinked at the empty door that Lupin had disappeared through. He looked at the newspaper, his eyes drawn to the small article. It was a scientific research newspaper, presumably for doctors. Severus imagined Lupin would skim it for articles on breakthroughs in the Werewolf department. 

            Severus supposed he should be grateful to the Werewolf. He had indeed found an article on someone else with the same predicament as Severus. He read a few paragraphs, taking particular interest in the story of how it had happened to the 'patient'.

            "…Doctors are baffled by Krum's sudden bodily transformation to a younger form. His physique changed after playing Quidditch with his younger brother. He was hit in the head with a bludger, and plummeted from his broom to the ground, where he promptly underwent a physical change to the body of himself at 15 years old. It has been months since the transformation, even passing his '16th' birthday, and no progress has been had in finding the cause or cure…"

            Severus swallowed. Looked like Lupin had found a clue. He pushed a buzzer next to his bed, calling Dumbledore to the room.

            ****

A/N : Sudden inspiration : ) lucky yous, eh ? ;) 


	23. Chapter TwentyThree: Blue Streak

A/N : So I was cleaning out my folder, and I definitely accidentally deleted this chapter because it was hiding in my image folder :'(. I had to rewrite the whole thing. How tedious -.-. My friend got me Diablo for xmas… just so you know… that game is evil… it will take your focus from everything you want to get done. Never play video games… they will possess and destroy you.

Disclaimer : I don't own anything. Really. Not even this computer, its my dad's. I even stole a line about a "blue streak of recognition" from Angels in America : ) I just couldn't resist. It's my new obsession and I had to give credit where credit was due : )

SLYTHERIN BOY 

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Blue Streak of Recognition**

****

Severus blinked at himself in the mirror. They'd finally let him leave the hospital wing a few days before. As a recovery gift, Albus had given him a dark violet set of robes and matching sweater. It was an expensive gift, but it had been too beautiful to reject. He adjusted the collar of the robes, wondering how Albus had managed to weasel him into wearing robes again. The old man was the most manipulative beast in the world.

He was to be meeting Krum today. He combed his dark, wet hair meticulously. Albus had advised him to go with his eyes naturally, seeing as Krum's message had informed him of a hock-eyed boy. They wanted no confusion on that matter, apparently.

Severus swallowed. He looked at his hollow face. He looked gaunt and tired. He ran his fingers into his sleeve along the skin of his arm. Madam Pomfrey had managed to heal it with very little scarring, a few pale lines that you could only see, not feel.

He sighed, wishing he looked at least a little more healthy. There was just so much stress. He had his meeting with Krum today, and then of course the next week he was to meet his brothers for a little family get together. A three day trip of staying with family he hadn't seen since he was a child… all while going through the old things that belonged to his abusive parents and decided what was for whom. He didn't have any false ideas that they wanted to get together for true familial reasons. He was positive they just wanted him to share the inheritance.

He plunged his hands into his pockets, walking out of his room. People had been edgy around him after his misguided attempt of happiness through bloodletting. Among the most edgy were Ron and Hermione. He was surprised to find that Harry was the least uncomfortable, at least outwardly so, of the three. He'd always imagined that Hermione would be the one who would feel most comfortable around him, under any circumstance. Not Harry _James_ Potter.

He frowned at a group of students standing in a huddle, talking excitedly. He paused by them. "What are _you_ so excited about?" he asked them. They turned to look at him. Ravenclaw third years. One of the girls giggled, smiling at him. He lifted an eyebrow. "We heard that Viktor Krum is coming to visit Hogwarts!" she said. "Isn't that exciting?" she waggled her eyebrows suggestively. He fought an uncomfortable turning sensation in his stomach, before he walked away without another word.

He arrived in the Great Hall, only to be intercepted by Albus. "Severus, we've been waiting ages for you! He'll be here any minute! Get into the staff lounge, I've informed all of the professors that it's off limits today, so you and Mr. Krum will have a nice long time to talk!"

Severus walked wordlessly to the staff lounge. He slumped into a chair in front of the fire, hearing Dumbledore close the door behind him. He stared into the fire for awhile, wondering how much time had passed. Glancing at the clock, he found that barely two minutes had passed and already he was antsy. 

He sighed, dropping his head into his hands. He felt fuzzy and anxious and tired. He wished that it wasn't the day he was supposed to meet this boy.

He jerked awake, looking around the room. He was in the staff room. Had he been asleep? What had woken him? He blinked his sleep away, looking towards the door. A broad-shouldered pale-skinned boy stood there. He looked slightly awkward, his mop of dark brown hair flopping over his forehead like doll hair. He had a strong, lean face with a slightly hooked nose. Well_,_ Severus thought, at least he wouldn't mind Severus's own hooked nose. 

He stood up, not tired at all anymore. He felt lightheaded. His palms were cold and wet, and he wiped them nervously on his new robes. He felt awkward and overdressed, the other boy was wearing a simple clean blue collared shirt and tan trousers. He frowned at Albus's formality.

"I am Viktor." He said. He had a thick accent. Severus swallowed.

"Severus," he said. He felt nervous, which was strange, he didn't usually feel that nervous meeting new people.

"I understand," Viktor spoke slowly, tediously thinking about each word, it seemed. "That you have been changed to a younger you the same as I." 

"Indeed," Severus said. "You're still likely younger than me," Severus shrugged. "What, nineteen, right?"

"No, I am twenty years of age. Twenty-one next month." Viktor said.

"Right, well, I'm thirty-seven years old."

"I have received messages." Viktor said after a pause. "You are whom I was sent to find and now I have. I do not know from here what is going to happen. What the purpose of meeting you is."

"Me neither." Severus said. Viktor walked over, sitting in the chair opposite where Severus was standing. Severus found himself sinking down into his own chair. He was feeling suddenly and almost irresistibly drawn towards the other boy's form. He restrained himself, sinking his fingers into the soft flesh of the chair.

Viktor looked at him, swallowed. Severus watched his Adam's apple move, and wondered if Viktor was fighting the same urges that he was. It seemed so, he was sitting quite tensely. Severus noticed that the boy had very pale green eyes, startling against his dark hair. Green-eyed boy, the messages had told him. He was struck with the memory of a message… to unite in body and soul or something of the likes. His fuzzy mind was unable to recall the exact phrasing. He was struggling to prevent his body from becoming physically aroused. In his distraction, he was startled to suddenly find Viktor moving closer to him.

Viktor was reaching a hand out, his finger towards Severus's forehead. Unaware of the boy's intent and strangely excited by the experience, he was unaware that Viktor had somehow managed to situate himself into his lap.

There was a sudden blue streak of recognition as the soft and gentle skin of Viktor's fingers made contact with the smooth, ivory skin of Severus's face. A recognition as if he had known Viktor all his life, knew everything about him, his experiences, his knowledge, his soul. Viktor jumped as his hand made contact, apparently feeling the same things about Severus. He moved closer, touching his own forehead to Severus's.

If it was possible to feel closer to someone than he had just felt, he did. With the touch of Viktor's forehead, Severus's eyes became heavy, his lids closing. He could feel the other boy breathing, feel the flutter of his eyelashes as his eyes, too closed. The dark, doll-perfect hair was soft as silk against Severus's face, the warmth of the other boy's body seemed to fill him to the core. He felt not as a single person knowing another single person, he felt as though their minds were fused together. A flashing feeling of complete connection and acceptance.

His intense physical desire seemed dwarfed and he nearly forgot it in this moment of a feeling he'd never had, this moment of a feeling of true love for something. Someone. Viktor.

And suddenly, the feeling became not so overwhelming. He opened his eyes, his chest heaving with breath. Viktor's eyes fluttered open, green meeting mismatched, and Severus swallowed heavily. It was two people again, though he forgot nothing of the feeling or of the knowledge he had taken from the experience. He looked into the eyes of someone he knew in completion. He was suddenly again aware of his intense sexual desire. He frowned. That was slightly bothersome. His only consolation was that he knew Viktor was feeling the same distressed feelings, though he felt slightly guilty. Viktor was so confused about his sexuality. Severus had been almost amused to find memories of Hermione in Viktor, of straight-acting and picking someone he was intellectually drawn to as his experiment. No wonder Hermione didn't talk about Viktor much. Severus started laughing, abruptly, and Viktor seemed startled for a moment, before a relieved smile crossed his face.

Viktor moved slightly, letting his weight fall across Severus's chest, cradling his head in the crook of Severus's neck. Severus felt sudden Déjà vu, remembering a similar action that had been done with a different boy, a redheaded boy. He swallowed, banishing Ron from his thoughts, simply enjoying the warm, dark comfort of the body breathing against him.

****

It seemed hours later that Dumbledore entered. The two boys looked as they had when he'd left them to each other, no older nor wiser. They were sitting on a small sofa, cross legged and adjacent from each other, talking in hushed, intimate tones. Albus lifted an eyebrow at them as they looked up in unison at him.

"Well."

"Viktor is staying, right?" Severus asked.

"Yes." Viktor said. "I mean, I will. If you let me." He looked at Albus.

"Well, who am I to say no? Of course he may stay." Dumbledore grinned broadly. "I'll arrange him a guest room,"

"No," Severus and Viktor said together. "He can stay with me, Albus."

Dumbledore frowned slightly. "Severus, I have to say, I'm not sure if that is appropriate, I mean, sixteen years old, here,"

"Albus." Severus snapped. "Think for a minute. How old am I, again? How old is Viktor? I'm fairly sure we are old enough to decide for ourselves what is appropriate or not."

Dumbledore grinned, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, it's just so easy to forget," he said.

"Right." Severus said sarcastically. Albus grinned. "Well, I'm glad you're getting on so well. I'll leave you two alone then. Hopefully you'll find a solution to your little problem."

Severus smiled. Hopefully.

****

Severus rolled over, sitting up in the dark. He ran his fingers through his hair. He couldn't sleep. Viktor was sleeping on the couch in the other room, and he was just too aware of the other boy's presence. It wasn't that they felt they weren't ready for the final step in (hopefully) restoring them to acceptable ages and forms, it was just that for a relationship's sake they didn't want to move too fast. It was the second day of Viktor's stay. 

Severus stood up and paced around the room, combing his hair with his fingers again, trying to walk away the heat that was boiling inside him. He opened his door a crack, peeking out into the sitting room where Viktor was. He tiptoed out.

"You sleeping?" he whispered quietly enough that he wouldn't wake him if he was.

"No," he heard Viktor's gruff voice say from the couch. He saw the boy sitting up in the darkness, looking over. Severus smiled slightly, before walking over and sitting down on the couch across from Viktor.

He sighed, flopping his head onto the headrest of the couch.

"You are having trouble sleeping?" Viktor said. Severus smiled, he found Viktor's heavy accent and rigid use of the English language somehow endearing and interesting. He liked listening to the deep-voiced boy speak.

"Can't sleep. Sleep is unnecessary. I keep thinking about this boy."

Viktor frowned. "What?"

"This boy," Severus said pointing to him. Viktor smiled, grabbing Severus's hand and yanking him forward.

"Got you," he said. Severus smiled against Viktor's chest. They were almost the same height and build, though Viktor was a bit more muscular and broad shouldered than Severus. They were a good match. 

Severus couldn't help feeling ridiculously content lying against Viktor, feeling the other boy's body responding to him. It wasn't as though they were planning on doing anything. He still felt a bit of comfort in knowing that Viktor was struggling with it, too. 

He felt Viktor looking at him, and he looked up. Viktor pulled him forward, capturing his mouth. Severus let himself get lost in it, before Viktor mumbled into his mouth, "I do not think that waiting will work,"

It was the best news he'd ever received.

****

Severus and Viktor sat in Dumbledore's office. Severus drank black coffee from a mug. Dumbledore walked it, started upon seeing them, before smiling.

"Well, then, this is interesting, isn't it?" Dumbledore said.

"An improvement, I'd say," Severus said. 

"Not thirty-seven," Dumbledore said.

"Not sixteen," Severus countered. He did look older. Much older, around mid-twenties. Or as he would have looked at that time, had he not been aged by his experiences. A young looking adult. Viktor looked near the same, a little older than he had before his strange transformation, but not unpleasantly so. 

"Well, care to explain what happened?" Albus said. Viktor looked embarrassed, but Severus just shook his head. "Not really. It is strange, though…"

"What is?"

"It didn't take us back to how we were. It seems as though it picked an area between our ages and put us both in the same spot." Severus lifted an eyebrow. 

"Well," Dumbledore said. "Whatever fates caused the change in the first place are mysterious… perhaps they didn't want to go to all the trouble of changing two different ages and just settled on a happy medium." 

"Perhaps," Severus said. "I still don't understand what happened in the first place." He shrugged. "I probably never will."

"Well, Severus," Dumbledore said. "The most I have figured is this… everything in the world is delicately balanced. Perhaps some people need to find each other in order to complete the necessary balance. I imagine that the messages and the transformation were a momentary glitch caused by an imbalance in the world, that being you and Viktor never finding each other the way you needed to, and by alleviating that problem, you were able to correct a distracting irritation, that being the age issue." Dumbledore smiled. "That's just my speculation, though. I've heard of similar things happening because of imbalances, never quite so drastic. Maybe you two are a more important connection that the others," Dumbledore shrugged.

"Good enough explanation for me," Severus said. "I feel at least a bit more comfortable…" he said.

"Comfortable enough to meet your brothers?" Dumbledore said. "That's in a few days, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," Severus frowned.

"Severus, if you don't want to do it, you can cancel and they will simply distribute the inheritance among themselves," Dumbledore suggested.

"No!" Severus snapped, suddenly. His eyes were wide. "I… I think I need this. I need to go back and face my past. I need closure. I need the family connection. I need… to go." Severus said.

"Well. I will send them another affirmation of your coming, then."

"Can Viktor come?" Severus asked suddenly, looking over at the new piece of his life.

"Of course, I imagine it would be foolish to go without him. Not good to strain a fresh relationship in such a way," Dumbledore sent Severus a naughty smile, causing a red blush to form in Severus's ears. Severus nodded slightly, and sent a relieved glance to Viktor, who smiled.

"We will have fun. I will meet your family, get to know them," Viktor said.

Severus nodded, looking at his hands. "So will I,"

****

A/N : Short, I know *** rolls eyes * **more soon : )


	24. Chapter TwentyFour: Closure and Creeveys

Disclaimer : I OWN IT! I OWN IT ALL, BWAHAHAHAHAH! That's what I'd be saying, were I in fact JK Rowling. But I'm not. Alas, alas for me.

SLYTHERIN BOY 

**Chapter Twenty-Four : Closure and Creeveys**

****

Ron sat pensively in the common room. Hermione sat beside him, and Harry had already gone up to bed. When he'd thought he had a crush on Hermione, a few years back, he'd been insanely angry at Viktor Krum for snatching away his chance for normalcy. Not jealous, per se, but definitely angry.

And now, now… that Bulgarian bastard had come in and snatched away Severus, too. The first person he'd ever felt such a strong attraction to, taken by the same boy who had angered him so in his thirteen-year-old aggression.

The thoughts raced through his brain as he struggled to comprehend how Severus could have done such a thing to him. Treated him the way he had. Dean glared at him from where he was sitting near the fire.

"What?" Ron snarled.

"What're you staring at me for?" Dean snapped. "I hope you're not fancying a shag,"

Ron felt the anger boiling inside him. "I'm not about to lose my virginity to the likes of you, Dean," he snapped. "Besides, the idea of you naked is one of the most gag-inducing ideas I can think of,"

"So you admit you've thought of it, eh?" Dean said. "You keep your queer thoughts away from _me_, Weasley,"

"Are you trying to pick a fucking fight with me? Because if so, I'll be beating your face bloody in two seconds," Ron shouted. Hermione grabbed his arm.

"Ron. Let it go," she muttered. Ron realized he had stood up, and sank back to his seat. Dean sniffed at him and stalked up the stairs to the boys dormitories.

"Why's he have to be such a prick?" Ron snarled.

"You're upset about Severus aren't you?" Hermione asked softly. Ron's eyes bugged.

"No! He can shag that Bulgarian bastard all he wants for all I care," he snapped at her. "Birds of a feather flock together, right? Jerks belong together."

"Ron… Viktor isn't a jerk, first of all. Second of all, I know you're feeling really jealous right now because he's with Severus. I don't know what to tell you. I haven't even spoken to Severus in nearly a week. I think he's trying to cut himself off from us. If you want to get some closure, you need to talk to him. Otherwise, well… you're just going to end up fighting Dean. I know you don't really want that." She said.

"I guess…" he sighed. Why were things always so difficult?

"Now I know for a fact that at this very moment, Viktor is at his home collecting his belongings. I saw him leave. If I were you, I'd go talk to Severus now, so you don't have to deal with Viktor being there." She said to him.

"…I guess you're right," Ron frowned. "I'll go now. I just… I need to feel better. If you think talking to him will do that, well, you're the smart one after all." He smiled weakly at her. She grinned.

He stood up, plunging his hands in his robes pockets. "Here I go," he said, walking towards the portrait. It swung open. "I'm gone," he called in through the open hole, before disappearing down the stairwell.

----------------

Ron ambled into the library. It was the first stop to finding Severus, the boy… man was often lurking around the books being surly. Ron spotted the dark head of hair poking over the edge of a chair. Ron slipped into the chair across from him.

He realized as he sat down that Snape was asleep, the side of his head leaned against the wings of the chair. He frowned, some reason disarmed by the sight of Snape looking so vulnerable. He reached over with his foot, kicking the man's heavy boot.

Severus jerked, his eyes opening. He looked disoriented for a moment, before seeing the bookshelves and focusing on Ron's scowling face.

"Oh," he murmured, relaxing slightly. "Weasley."

"I need to talk to you," Ron murmured, slightly disarmed by being referenced by his surname.

"Talk," Severus said simply.

"Well I don't… really know what to say. You know… you really hurt me. A lot," he looked at Severus, his eyes guarded. It felt different talking to the man as an adult. He found himself thinking of the black-haired figure in front of him as Snape, rather than the Severus he knew. It surprised Ron to realize he hadn't thought of him as Snape since the transformation a whole year ago.

"I'm sorry," Severus said earnestly. "You know… the thought process between childhood and adulthood are so different. I was impulsive, rash. I did things I… wouldn't have, normally…" he trailed off at Ron's hurt look.

"Listen, Ron." Severus said. "I am an adult. I knew from the beginning that things wouldn't work out between you and I, because eventually I would have been switched back, like this. Do you understand that?" Ron nodded. "But as a child… well, a young man I suppose… I was so led by my emotions. All I could think of, when I was with you, was that I was attracted to you. I'm sure you can understand the possession that comes over you when your hormones kick in?" Ron nodded again, smirking. "I'm not trying to make excuses, I know that won't help. I guess I'm just trying to explain that I never meant to hurt you," he trailed off.

"Okay," Ron said. "You know… I don't understand what's so much better about Viktor Krum than me," he grumbled.

Severus smirked slightly. "Don't eat yourself up about it, Weasley," he said. "It was only a physical attraction with you, and I know it. You were struggling with sexuality and I pushed you over the line. For that you liked me. For anything else? Well you thought I was a pretentious, ill-tempered bastard. Which I am."

"True." Ron smirked. The more he thought about it, the less unhappy he felt about not getting a good shag out of Severus. He had a thought, suddenly. He frowned. "Are you even going to be friends with us anymore?" he asked after a moment of silence. "Not that I can ever forgive you. And I know Harry still doesn't like you. But Hermione… well, she hasn't said it to me, but I can just tell… she's terrified that you'll never speak to her on a friendly level again. She thinks things are going to just click back to the way they were, with you hating us and us hating you."

Severus blinked. He hadn't even thought of that. "Oh," he murmured. "I don't know. I don't think things could ever be the way they were." He smirked slightly. "Seeing as things will be changing anyways, I don't see why I can't continue being friendly with her. Not that I was ever friendly with you and Potter," he smirked slightly. "And seeing as I'll be back sitting at the High Table, no need for pleasantries."

Ron smiled, standing up. Severus followed suit. Ron held his hand out. "To being mortal enemies," he said. Snape smirked and shook it.

"For the record," Severus said. "I don't feel so ill towards you three anymore. I doubt things will be _quite_ as vicious as before. Not that I'm going to sacrifice my reputation as a greasy bastard for you. But… I don't doubt the atmosphere will have changed a bit."

Ron nodded. "I obviously don't hate you anymore. Harry neither. But, you know how it is. You can only lose so many house points before you start to get irritated again." He shrugged.

"Well, I'd better go. Viktor's coming back soon." Severus said. There was an awkward pause.

"Go, then." Ron said. "You're right. I've been putting far too much worth on you," he said, though his heart sunk slightly as he said it. He swallowed.

"Tell Longbottom not to be so afraid of me," Severus said, suddenly. "If he would keep his head while coming into my damned class, I'm sure he wouldn't have so many nasty _accidents_,"

Ron laughed as Severus walked out of the library.

----------------

"Well?" Hermione said as Ron slumped back into the chair. He smirked at her. "_Well_?" she repeated.

"Well, we're back to despising each other, I guess. We came to an agreement of sorts. You're right, Hermione. I do feel a little better." He nodded.

"Good," she murmured.

"Oh yeah," Ron said. "He told me to tell you, the password to his rooms is 'Parseltongue'."

Hermione blinked. "Why did he want you to tell me that?" she asked.

"Well, you two are the good friends, right? He didn't want to just cut you out of his life after you two'd become such good friends and all," he said nonchalantly.

"Oh," Hermione beamed. "Well! I'll remember that. Thank you, Ronald," she smiled at him, before kissing him on the cheek. "I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow, darling,"

He rolled his eyes as she walked up the dark stairwell to the girls dormitories. He sat for a moment, happy that he'd made her feel good. It was nice to see her not looking depressed. He was still a little bit jealous about Krum, and he supposed he'd always be a bit sore. Snape had been right in what he'd said, though. It was a physical attraction issue. They'd never been particularly nice to each other, unless they were kissing. Which, come to think of it, really hadn't been that often. He sighed, standing up. He stretched, slightly, looking over to the fireplace.

The only people still awake were the Creevey brothers, pouring over a book. He smirked.

Colin Creevey didn't look so bad, really.

----------------  
----------------

A/N: I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN SO LONG!

I was seriously hating this story for… a long time. But I finally had a bit of inspiration, and tried to write this chapter from a different approach. Originally, I had planned on it being a chapter of Severus going with Viktor to meet his family, but I was having NO luck at all with that. Everything was turning out awful, so I set it aside for a really, really long time. Then I was thinking about it today, since I have been getting a spattering of reviews recently, and decided to try the chapter again. I read the last ten chapters over, and found a spark again. I tried again from the Snape Family Reunion approach, before being struck with the idea to do a chapter for Ron. And it worked out well.

Next time… more Viktor and Severus. Maybe a bit of the family spice thrown in there. I have a new idea… more Severus torture. Can you guess it? I wonder. **G**


	25. Chapter TwentyFive: Reminisce and Recall

Disclaimer: Don't sue me!!!! sob

SLYTHERIN BOY 

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Reminisce and Recollect**

****

Severus woke slowly, groggily. His face was smashed uncomfortably against the side of Viktor's head. He repositioned, and stretched slowly, languidly. A yawn escaped his chest as he felt the man next to him move slightly, in the gentle ruffle of wakefulness. The small rectangular windows near the ceiling let the dirty sunlight stream in, leaving squares of light in patterns along the pale skin of his lover.

He felt an unfamiliar smile creep across his face. A tension jumped into his chest and throat. It was such a fleeting moment of bursting pain that he barely had a moment to recognize what it was. A fleeting moment of happiness. Not just happiness, for he had experienced that before, but a happiness so profound that it hurt from its strangeness. He rubbed his chest slightly, before blinking and smiling again. He could get used to that feeling, he decided, even if it only came in short bursts.

His thoughts drifted over the events of the past few weeks. Draco, the thought of the pale boy made anger and pain rise in his chest, along with the lead blanket of guilt. He was angry that Draco had become such a bastard to him. He was hurt that the boy had gone from someone he considered to have great potential, a boy who had once bore his heart and feelings, his pains his fears and his hopes to Severus could change, so drastically. The realization that Severus wasn't, in fact, invincible had changed the way Draco had acted towards him, giving him a strong enough dislike of the boy to kick him in the chest with all his might. Though the fragile-looking boy's death had been accidental, the fact that Severus had lost his control for even just one moment had given him such a feeling of guilt that it felt difficult to breathe.

"Are you okay?" Severus blinked back to attention, looking at Viktor, who had spoken. The man's hair was mussed and tangled from sleep, crumpling around his face. Severus smiled at him. "I'm fine," he said. "Just thinking."

"You looked very not happy," Viktor said.

"I was thinking about unpleasant things," Severus admitted. "A boy who died,"

"Yellow hair?" the foreign man asked. Severus looked surprised.

"Yes, his name was Draco Malfoy."

"Headmaster Dumbledore he told me about," Viktor said. "He say you did it by accident."

"Yes, it was an accident. It was still my fault, though." Severus frowned. Viktor wrapped his arms around the dark-haired man, laying his cheek against Severus's chest.

"It's better now. People have forgiven you. They know you did not mean it. Accidents happen sometime. You would never do killing on purpose."

"Mm," Severus said. He combed his fingers through the tangles in Viktor's hair. They lay together like that for a long while.

They sat together in the staff lounge. Severus felt a buzz of comfort at being allowed back in the familiar room. Even though at the moment it was bustling with teachers, he knew that he wouldn't be teaching again until after his visit with his family.

His family. His heart jumped into his throat, at the same moment his stomach plunged into an unknown abyss located somewhere near the floor. He swallowed, shaking his head of the nervous thoughts of seeing his brothers again.

He tried to enjoy himself. It was difficult for him, his mind was always occupied with the unpleasant things, it seemed. Even when things were looking wonderful for him, just the prospect of seeing his family again could ruin the moment.

The other professors shot them curious looks once in awhile. They weren't speaking to each other at the moment, simply sitting together over coffee, enjoying the atmosphere silently. Severus picked up a copy of the daily prophet. His face went white at seeing Draco Malfoy's face on the cover.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered putting it back down. Viktor looked confused, picking it up. A knowing look dawned on his face as he read the article. Severus scowled. "Every time I start to feel good, something awful has to throw itself right back into my face, it seems." He murmured. Viktor put the paper away and took his hand. Remus Lupin smirked, sitting across from them.

"Well, if it isn't the two lovebirds," he said brightly. "Nice to see you two are getting along well,"

"Go away, Lupin." Severus said.

"Temper, temper, Severus," Remus said, holding his hands up innocently. Severus's heart lurched at the similarity to something Draco had said to him on the train. _"__Ooh, temper, temper, my dark haired friend,"_ echoed in Severus's ear so that he barely heard the rest of Remus' comment. "I was just trying to make conversation."

Severus didn't respond. Viktor and Remus looked at him. His eyes were clouded, his face distracted. "You okay, Severus?" Remus asked. "You look like you're not all here with us,"

"Mm, what?" Severus snapped to attention. "I thought I told you to go away, Lupin?" he scowled.

"Wow. Whatever, Snape. Don't need to tell me twice," he stood up.

"I already told you twice," Snape snarled, at the back of the tawny-haired Werewolf. The man shook his head and disappeared from the staff lounge.

Severus jumped at the bony elbow of Viktor stabbing him in the ribs. "Ouch," he said, rubbing the throbbing area. "What was that for?" Viktor rolled his eyes. The other staff members watched, looking amuse and shooting silent glances to each other before returning to their work.

-------------

He sat in the beat up car, Viktor in the passenger side seat. He took several short, labored breaths as he gathered his courage. The car drive had given him much-needed mental preparation, but now that he was here he felt sick and anxious. He stared through the scratched windshield at the peeling and rusting blue paint on the hood of the car. He wondered vaguely why Albus would have such a piece-of-junk car, before looking over towards the house.

It loomed, dark and intimidating, at the top of a grassy hill. Just as he remembered it. The walk up the paved pathway would last an eternity, until his feet ached as much as his nerves. The lights were on in the house, giving it an obscure homey feeling against the dusk that was approaching. As he stared at the house, he saw a few people open the front door and trickle out onto the porch. They looked like marbles rolling, bouncing and jockeying for position on the wooden porch.

They looked at the car, and Severus looked at his hands on the steering wheel. Viktor reached over, rubbing his shoulder in a display of comfort and support. Severus sighed, before standing and exiting the car. He spent a moment looking at the heap, expecting it to fall apart at any moment, crumpling to a pile and the rubber wheels rolling off into the sunset. He wished he could roll away at that moment.

Instead, he walked towards the footpath, Viktor behind him.

-------------

He approached the porch, his eyes trained to the ground. As he reached for the screen door, he looked up, his black eyes speaking volumes to the men inside. He walked in, as the others repositioned themselves to make room for Severus and Viktor. He looked around. "Maybe some introductions are in order," the man in front of him said. "After all, you haven't seen any of us since you were a child. We spoke earlier and decided we ought to start off with re-introducing ourselves."

"Sounds good," Severus said softly. He felt something abnormal for him, intimidation. It was as if he were eleven years old all over again.

The man smiled brightly. His teeth were white and straight. Severus wondered why he'd been the one born with crooked teeth. Or perhaps that was a result of the abuse he'd received during his growing years? Who knew.

"Claudius," he said. His dark hair was parted and smooth, he looked like a businessman. His blue eyes shined with good nature, and he seemed to be an overall pleasant fellow. He was tall, though none of them were as tall as Severus, and he was slight, built along the same pattern as Severus. Severus nodded to him. "Claud, right? Or am I wrong. I'm just going by what I remember them calling you." Claud nodded. "Yes, I normally go by Claud. Most people prefer the shorter version, it's not as much of a mouthful."

"I see," Severus blinked. Claud was the oldest child in the family. Two identical men nodded to him next, from the porch swing. One had very short, curly black hair, and the other's hair was longer, combed back. They both had dimples in their cheeks and dark brown eyes. Their hands were large and rough, probably from dealing with dragons, if he remembered correctly. "Cyprian and Demetr," Severus said, lifting an eyebrow. They grinned. "You remember us?" Severus nodded. "Well. Twins, after all. Hard to forget that sort of thing, you know." He shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. As though he were on show for them.

Another man stood. He stuck his hand out. Severus shook it, noticing the wedding band on his finger. He had short hair, though it looked untidy, as though he didn't comb it as often as he should. He looked remarkably like Severus, sans hooked nose. His skin tone, his build, his eyes all reminded Viktor of Severus. "Tertius," the voice was different, though. Rough and brusque, like a smoker's voice.

The next one who stood had long, wavy black hair pulled into a tail at the nape of his neck. His eyebrows were thick, and his nose hooked. He had darker skin and gleaming brown eyes. "Dominicus," he said. He gave Severus a cheeky grin. Severus smirked slightly.

"Camillus," Severus said, next, looking at the man who had stood. "Cam," the man corrected. "Can't stand being called by the full thing." He had spiky, dark brown hair, the only one in the group without the black locks. His eyes gleamed black and his mouth was thin and grinning.

"I remember the rest of you," Severus said. "Livius, Vitus, Max, Tonnie…" he trailed off. The men nodded. "No Tully, though," he frowned. "How did it happen?" he wondered aloud. The men had looked depressed upon the mention of their deceased brother.

"Heart attack," Cam said. "He had a heart defect when he was born. You knew, didn't you?"

"Oh," Severus murmured. "No, I didn't know. Mother and Father didn't tell me much about the family,"

"Ah," Claud rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. "Well… let's go in. It's getting a bit rainy out here," Severus nodded, and followed the herd of men into the house.

-------------

They sat in the living room, drinking tea for awhile. The men were talking eagerly, reminiscing and catching up. Severus absorbed the information as best he could. Cyprian was getting married. Tertius had another child on the way. Demetr had expanded their Dragon sanctuary to include 30 of the beasts, and the staffing was at an all time high. Max's family was going to be relocating to Italy, due to his work. There was so much that Severus didn't know about his brothers.

"Max," he said softly. His voice was soft but it still had that commanding edge to it. The other men quieted and looked to him. "Yes?" Max asked.

"I have a home up in Italy. You can have it, if you want it." He said. Max blinked.

"I can _have_ it?" he asked, stunned.

"Well, yes. I hardly ever go there. Two months a year, maybe. There's no reason for me to keep somewhere that I never go." He smirked. "I was going to sell it anyways, I was going to move into a house in Hogsmeade," he said. "But seeing as supposedly I have all this inheritance, I don't think I'm really going to need the money," he shrugged. He was uncomfortable with the staring. There was silence for a moment.

"You know, forget I said anything," he snapped, irritated at his family's behavior.

"Oh, no," Max said, afraid he had offended Severus. "Thank you so much, Severus. I don't even know how to express my gratitude," his eyes were wide. Severus was feeling exceedingly uncomfortable.

"You're welcome," he murmured. He stood up. "I'm going to get some more tea," he frowned, walking into the other room. Viktor sat for a moment, before getting up and following.

The men were quiet as Severus the sound of Severus sighing heavily was heard from the kitchen. "Why am I doing this, Viktor? I should just leave them to sort everything out,"

"I thought you wanted connection with your family?" Viktor's heavy voice murmured.

"Not if it's going to feel so awkward. I'm tired of dancing around every damned subject we talk about. They're being so careful of me," he hissed. "As if saying the wrong thing will have me bursting out in tears like a child. I am not some helpless damsel in distress, you know!"

"I know," Viktor said softly. Severus sighed again.

"This is so stressful. Why does every damnable thing in my life have to happen at the same time? First that damn curse, then Draco, then you, now this. Why? You know, I'm not some fragile doll to be broken, but I can only take so much, Viktor. I want to go back. I want to go home,"

"Well," Viktor said. "I thought you wanted to come to terms," he murmured. "With what had happened in this house."

"I do," Severus murmured. "I do. I guess I'll just have to suck it up. Pretend there's not a pile of ashes where my heart used to be," he growled.

"There's not," Viktor whispered.

There was silence, before Severus came back out, holding a fresh cup of tea. He blinked at the stares of his brothers, before sitting back down again.

"So, Severus," Vitus asked, pushing a few strands of his cheek-length hair behind his ears. "How's Hogwarts going? You teach there, right?"

"Oh, yes," Severus said. "I took a year off, this year. I needed some time." He lied exquisitely. "I was having some medical problems and there was a lot of strain for awhile. I'm better now, though. I'm due to start teaching again next week," he smiled slightly. "About time, I'd say. I could do with something to keep me busy,"

"What do you teach?" Tertius asked. Severus felt pleased that they were speaking about something he could contribute to.

"Oh, potions. I keep applying for that damned Defense Against the Dark Arts position, but I never get it. Albus is willing to put any terrible teacher in there as long as he doesn't have to sacrifice his Potion's professor. There's a large shortage of Potions Masters as far as teaching goes, and it's a very dangerous subject after all. The slightest thing can kill you, and he doesn't want any old halfwit teaching his kids how to make explosives," he smirked.

"Why do you want the Defense position so badly if you're so good at Potions?" Max asked.

"Oh," Severus murmured. "Well. I made some really terrible mistakes in my life," he murmured slowly, carefully. "I don't want the children to make the same sorts of mistakes. I want them to really know what to in any of the situations I found myself in."

"What sorts of situations would those be?" Cam asked.

Severus blinked. "Deatheaters," he stated simply. There was a look of fear on their faces.

"You, er… you had experiences with Deatheaters?" Claud asked. He seemed shaken. "And they didn't kill you?" his eyes were wide. The other men in the room seemed to have the same feelings about it.

"Well," he said. "As a boy I was… confused. I didn't trust anyone, I had no friends. I got no respect from, well, anybody. I got caught up in the Deatheaters, they promised me everything. At that moment in my life… well, I joined them." Severus said. There were gasps from his brothers.

"But…" Severus continued. He didn't like the idea of his brothers being afraid of him. "You have to understand that when the Dark Lord himself is recruiting you, which he was, it is very difficult to say no. You can't refuse when he's standing there, or he'll kill you. What's to stop him? But I very soon after realized that the things I was told about the group were outright false. It was nothing more than a group of bloodthirsty murderers," he was actually slightly enjoying his tale. He hardly ever got to tell it, and never with such rapt attention. It was a good feeling to have people looking at him with fascination like that. "I went to Albus Dumbledore, and practically begged him to throw me in Azkaban. I said the dementors weren't as awful as the Deatheaters, and if it meant escape from the Dark Lord himself, I would do it. Instead of killing me then and there, which in reality he had the legal right to do… he asked me to do something for him. He asked me to spy for him. And I accepted." He shrugged.

His brothers were looking at him with a newfound respect. "You _spied_ on you-know-who? And you're not DEAD?" Cam asked again.

"Well. I'm very skilled at Occlumency. He could never tell if I was lying or not. I spied on him for years and years from his inner circle, and he never suspected. After his first downfall, I was protected by Dumbledore from being imprisoned for bearing the mark, by that evidence. As such, when he returned two years back, I was unable to resume my role as a spy." He said. "While I'm sure being a spy is almost a respectable role, I would far prefer my students to never fall into the Deatheater trap at all. But alas, I am kept as a lowly potions master. If the ministry caught wind of me teaching Defense, I'd be sacked immediately anyways. They don't take kindly to me," he shrugged. "I deserve it, though. I've done nothing to deserve their trust. I trust them less than they do me, though, so I suppose it works both ways,"

"Wow," Max said. "That's really impressive, Severus," Severus smiled just a little. "Not really. If I hadn't been such a fool to start with I never would have gotten myself into that hot water."

"Wait a moment, though," Cy said. "You said that he was recruiting you himself. So that's different. Why did he want you so badly, anyways?" he asked.

"Oh," Severus said. "Well at that point, fresh out of school, I was already a really distinguished Potions Master. Within a few years I was one of the top masters in the world, and he wanted my skill for his army." He frowned.

"You're one of the top potions masters in the world?" Livius asked.

"No, I'm the top now," he said. "There were a few better than me then. But they've since died, so… that leaves me," he shrugged again. "It's really not that big of a deal. It's not like there's much competition."

"Not for you," Livius said. "I'm a Potions Master too, you know?"

Severus blushed. "Oh really? Well, I mean, I didn't mean it like… er…" he said. He hadn't meant to insult anyone.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean that you had offended me, Severus. All I'm saying is that there's competition for _me_. I guess my skill level is around the average for most Potions masters, so you must be really talented to be the top in the world. To not even see people like me as competition," he grinned. Severus's ears burned red.

"I really didn't mean it that way. If I had known, I mean…" he trailed off. Livius smiled. "Don't worry about it. At least now when I go to conventions I can say 'Well, my brother's top in the world'." He grinned.

"Hah," Severus said. "Oh, did you go to the convention in Bristol last year?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, did you see the booth about the Wolfsbane? I thought that was fascinating!" Livius murmured.

"Oh, Wolfsbane," Severus grinned. "Hey, that's not so interesting really. I created the formula when I was, er, maybe twenty-four? It wasn't perfect at first, still isn't really, but I've continued research on it throughout the years. You shouldn't take that booth to heart, though, it was set up by a man I have little to no respect for, and a lot of his facts were wrong about it, too…"

Claudius smirked. "Well, now they've gone off about Potions," he murmured to his brothers. "We'll be here for hours, I suspect,"

Severus walked through the house with Viktor. "It's weird, you know?" he said. "Being here again. It's just as I remember it, too. I don't know what to think. You would never suspect some of the things that went on here," he frowned.

"I know," Viktor said. "It seems like normal house," he shook his head. "I am sorry about what did happen here," he said to Severus. Severus smiled at him slightly, reaching out to brush his fingers with his hands. They continued to walk through the house.

-------------

A/N: Okay, this one was longer. I finally got the reunion going. I thought I'd find a family member who'd connect with Severus. The other's were fascinated by the Deatheater thing, because though they were a pureblood family, they had stayed away from the Dark Lord. Their only experiences with deatheaters had been through rumors and the news, so they were eager to hear a first-hand account of it.

See, his family wasn't as bad as he thought. At first it was awkward, but after they got the ball rolling things worked out. Next chapter should come soon. I had an idea but now I'm not sure if I want to do that. I think maybe I want to work a little more on the Livius-Severus brother relationship, because I'm starting to really like Livius. g


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Harry Potter, Angst, Humor